


When Gray Met Black

by sins_of_a_teenager



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:15:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 33
Words: 95,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24251926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sins_of_a_teenager/pseuds/sins_of_a_teenager
Summary: We've all wanted to live in the amazing world of Harry Potter. What would happen if that wish came true?This happened for Grayson Kinley, well sort of.Her new life at Hogwarts comes with a cost.
Relationships: Sirius Black & Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Head in the Clouds**

"Ms Kinley? Are you with us?"

Stupid teacher, interrupting the best daydream ever.

"Yes ma'am," I say, looking back up to the board.

"Oh, really then what were we discussing?"

Shit.

"Well, uh" I spew trying to come up with something useful.

"Maybe if you kept your head out of the clouds, you'd know that we were talking about the new project for Romeo and Juliet."

Yea, cause that's more important than daydreaming about Draco Malfoy.

"Class over everyone have a good weekend. Remember to memorize you assigned parts for Monday." Thank god, I need to get out of here.

Finally, I can go home and I can read all I want. I think I deserve a good reading binge, it's not like I'll be disturbed, thanks to the fact that I don't have many friends. I mean I have a couple, but we're all introverts, so going out on weekends is never really in our itinerary.

"Gray, wait up." I hear from behind me as I make my way towards my locker.

Mitchell jogs up to me as I open my locker. He stands beside me puffing out his chest to make himself seem taller. It makes him look more like Dwight Shrute.

"Are you ready for the Winter dance? I know that you usually don't go to them but I was wondering if you're going or if uh maybe we could go together. You know cause we're friends right." He says as I shove my Shakespeare text into my backpack.

"I don't know, you know that being in crowded places gives me anxiety," I say unlocking my locker.

"Oh! Right. I just thought that maybe if we went together that would make it a bit easier for you. You know, since I'd be by your side for the entire night." He says as I shake my head.

"That's not really how it works."

"Ok, fine, whatever," He says as I internally sigh, "Anyways, I heard you got paired up with Finn for Romeo and Juliet, what scene did you get?"

"Um, Act 1, Scene 5," I say grabbing my bag as Mitch followed me towards the entrance of the school.

"Wait, what?" He says almost tripping to catch up with me.

"What?" I say in pursuit of the exit to this god-awful school.

"That's the kissing scene, you have that fucking kissing scene with Finn? You don't even talk to him! You're not going to be comfortable kissing him."

"Who's to say I'm not comfortable? It's not like the kiss will even matter. Also, we're literally in high school, they're not going to make us kiss. You know unless I consent to do so, which I won't, considering that I'm in love with Draco Malfoy." I sigh pushing past the front doors.

"How can you be in love with someone who's not even real?" He says shaking his head.

"I just, I don't know, I guess that I just feel connected to him. Anyways, I'll see you tomorrow, my bus is here." I say walking away. I don't know how, but even after many years of friendship, he doesn't understand my love for these fictional characters.

I love to read this series but I like to skip a lot of chapters and pretend some things never happened. This helps my imagination to flow and come up with alternative endings so my heart doesn't need to go through as much.

"Maybe it's the way she walked. Ow! Strait into my heart and stole it. Through the doors and passed the guards. Ow! Just like she already owned it." I sang at the top of my lungs as I enter the house. "I said can you give it back to me. She said never in your wildest dreaamsss."

"God, how old are you? Last time I checked you weren't 12 and this wasn't 2013." I hear my brother say from upstairs.

"Whatever. " I say walking into the kitchen. "God damn hentai lover."

"What was that?" He yells from the room he never leaves, but I guess I'm not one to talk.

"Oh nothing, my dear brother." That won't get him off my back but I mean, what will.

I stroll up to my room and shut the door. Pumpkin spice floods my senses as I light my candle. Yes, I am that basic.

I plug in my phone and open up YouTube.

"Yes, I would like to watch David Dobrik, thank you very much."

I huddle under my blanket cocoon and press play.

*4 minutes and 20 seconds later*

"Damn, I need to get myself one of those spontaneous boys," I mutter to myself as I crawl out of my cocoon. "Take me on a nice and spontaneous date, surprising me with cute dates. Mmmmhmmmm"

I stretch my arms, reaching towards the ceiling. I glance around my room; it's been a while since I've thoroughly cleaned it. Who has the time? I spot my running shoes all alone in the corner.

I haven't jogged in ages.

I change into appropriate jogging clothing, consisting of a sports bra and shorts, and pull on my once lonely shoes. As I pull my hair into two braids, I look over my outfit.

Looks good.

"I do my hair toss, check my nails, baby how you feeling'. Feeling good as hell!" I sing as I make my way out the door, my music blasting through my headphones.

As I turn, running away from my house, I feel my mind clear. Clouds. Fluffy white clouds being chased away by the grey storm.

Hmm, I didn't know there was going to be a storm. It looked clear earlier.

Ignoring my gut which was telling me to run home, I follow my old jogging trail that leads me into the woods. I can't even remember why I quit jogging. Everything seems to slip away while I run. I mean, it's true, I run away from everything. Whenever something is too serious, I hide behind jokes. When I'm finally confronted after avoiding it for as long as I can, I tend to crack under pressure. I guess running is my escape. In more ways than one.

I stop to catch my breath and stretch my arms above my head, glancing around the forest.

I guess I'm a little out of shape. I use to be able to jog this without breaks.

I make sure the ground isn't wet and sit down for a break. I stay like this, listening to the rainfall from the safety beneath the trees. It shouldn't be raining. The town of Reve never does anything. No snowstorms. No hurricanes. No thunderstorms. Well, maybe today is the day that we become a rainy city. It better not.

"Are you lost?"

* * *

I have this posted on other websites so I'm going to post everything and make it up to date. Then, my posting schedule will be Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Word count: 1127

May 18, 2020

* * *

**Chapter 2: Mystery Forest Man**

"Are you lost?" I jump at the sound of a deep voice, "It's not safe to be out here alone at this time of night."

I watch the older man as he watches me through his spectacles perched on the edge of his nose. He doesn't look threatening with his kind smile but his eyes seemed wise beyond his years.

"I, uh, I must have lost track of time," I say, getting up and brushing the dirt from my shorts. I hadn't noticed how dark it had gotten. Time really flies when you're not paying attention.

"Ah, you must remember to spend your time wisely as you never know how much you actually have." He says smiling gently at me. There's a glint in his eyes as he peers at me through his glasses. "Although, you are luckier than most, having more time than others. Remember, time is a balance, every moment you lose, alters the path you take." He chuckles as if this was some sort of inside joke. "Everything will become clear, for now, you should head back home and rest. Your adventure is about to begin."

As if in some trance, I start to trek back down the trail to my house. I look back at this mysterious stranger only to see a bird perched on the branch above where the man stood.

Wow, he must be a fast walker.

I jog back to my house rushing over to the cupboards and grabbing a glass filling it with water. I can't help but think back to that strange man in the forest. Everything he said was riddled yet he seemed to be completely aware of his surroundings. He said that my adventure would start soon. What does that even mean? He spoke as if he knew me but I've never met him, although he seems familiar as if I knew him in a different life.

"Hey kiddo, a bit late for a run isn't it?" My dad says as he opens the fridge.

"Sorry, I lost track of time." There is no way I would ever tell him about that weird guy in the woods, I might never be allowed to go on my own again. It's not as if I was in danger. He seemed harmless. At least I hoped that he was harmless, for all I know he could've been an escaped convict on his way to murder someone; I could've been the next victim.

"You haven't been for a run in a long time," He states grabbing an apple, "Anything on your mind?"

"Mortality"

"Ah, that's the spirit! Well, I'm off. I have a plane ticket with my name on it." He gives me a quick hug and he's out of the door.

Just like that dads away on another flight to a country in need. With him in the army, he's away for long stretches at a time. He gets deployed about once every two years. He gets to travel the world helping people.

I set my empty glass into the sink and return to my room. Quickly, I shower and then throw on some shorts and an oversized shirt. I stare at my reflection in the mirror. Something seems off. I stare into my reflection's eyes. My eyes trail down my face. I lean in closer looking at my face. The mirror seems to glimmer for a split second like a drop in a calm pool. I shake my head and walk back into my room and jump into my bed.

I hear my door open and my head snaps up to see my parents other spawn.

"Food" He says placing my food at the door. Of course, he couldn't have walked that extra couple of feet to actually hand it to me.

And before I can even reply he's crawled back into his cave of a room.

I devour my food as the "Sweet but Psycho" plays. I can't help but think back to the man in the forest. He didn't seem like a random crazy guy, his words held so much wisdom, almost like a prophecy in Percy Jackson. Just as confusing but less rhyming.

On that note, I should probably start to learn my lines for Romeo and Juliet.

"Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much which mannerly devotion shows in this. For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss." I read this paragraph over and over making sure I understand it. That's the key to reciting this text, as long as you understand it, the text is easy to memorize.

I get the chance to run through my Iines a couple of times before my phone starts ringing.

"Hello?"

"Aunt Gray? Is that you?" Aunt? My brother better not have a kid, he's 18, way too young. I don't recognize the voice on the other end. I check the number but I don't recognize it. Their accent seemed to indicate that they're British.

"I'm sorry, who is this?"

"It's me-"

"Who are you talking to?" Another voice cuts him off. The speaker is covered and I can only hear mumbling from the other end.

"Hello?" I say into the line. "How do you know my name?"

"Oh! I'm sorry for the disturbance Gray-ma'am, my son must have accidentally dialled the wrong number." I felt off, as if something wasn't right. I could hear his son in the background pleading to have the phone back.

"It's ok, I understand." I laugh into the phone.

"Yea, Teddy means well," He pauses. "I'm sorry to disturb you."

"Oh, I wasn't doing anything important anyway, you know schoolwork's not that important"

The man on the line laughs but he seems very tense.

"Well, I better get going. Um, have a goodnight Gra-ma'am. Have a good night ma'am."

"Yea, you too, uh, sir?"

"Harry, what's going on?" A feminine voice says in the background.

"Bloody hell" Another voice chimes in.

"Well, then have a goodnight, Harry. Tell Teddy that I said goodbye." I say, curious as to what was going on.

"I will"

He hangs up and I can't help but think how weird that call was. First that random forest man and now the British are calling me up at 2 a.m. Now that I think of it, how did they know my name? I completely forgot to ask. Also, why was the father so concerned when giving out their names? I mean I guess that giving random people your information shouldn't turn into a pass time of mine.

How did they get my number? The man said that his son randomly typed my number. If that's the case how did he know my name? A coincidence? Is this the start of my journey like the forest man told me? Or is my number posted in Europe? Nothing seems to add up.

Wait! Teddy, son of Harry? Like how Harry Potter adopted Teddy Lupin. If only that was the case, still, what are the odds?

* * *

Word count: 1174

May 18, 2020

* * *

**Chapter 3: Hoggy Warty Hogwarts**

Light floods my senses. Why did I leave my curtains open, this is horrible? I groan and shove my head underneath my pillow.

"Gray"

"Gray" The same voice repeats. "Grayson, you're not gonna like it when I am forced to take measures into my own hands."

Wait.

One.

Moment.

Who the fuck just said that?

Before I can think my covers are taken off of me.

"What the fuck!" I scream as I glare at the redheaded girl responsible.

"Come on Gray, you're going to be late. You have 30 minutes to get ready before we head down to the dining hall."

Who the fuck does this red-headed menace think she is? More importantly where the fuck am I? I look around the dorm and see four ginormous four-post beds, all accompanied by trunks at the end of them. Since when do I go to a boarding school? I rummage what I assume to be my trunk and search for clothes. I might as well go along with this, she seems to know what she's doing, unlike myself. All I can find are jackets, blankets, and textbooks. Huh, a leather jacket? Didn't think I owned one of those.

"What is up with you today? Your uniform is in your wardrobe" I turn and see that same girl watching me from behind a book.

"Guess I just forgot," I mumble, she's starting to get on my nerves.

I jumped into the shower and used the only shampoo in the shower along with coconut body wash. I can't believe how real this feels. This dream seems so vivid, the lights feel so bright, this water is so hot. I feel my muscles being relieved of all their tension. I dry myself off with a big red towel and wrap my hair up with another one. I quickly get dressed, pulling on the uniform as quickly as possible and walk into the bathroom doing a quick morning routine. I brushed out my hair, blow-drying dry. As it dried, my hair became a little wavy, enough that it wasn't flat. I applied a little bit of mascara and grabbed a tube of lip balm, applying it before shoving it into my robe pocket.

When I finished the girl quickly shuts her book and stands up.

"You know, I can't keep being your personal alarm clock forever." She tells me as we wander into the hallway. "I mean seriously, you know I'd do anything for you but I'm getting tired of waiting for you."

Wait, are we friends? But I don't even know her? Whatever as long as she shows me food that's all that matters.

"Thanks" I might as well say something, it would be awkward if this was a one-sided conversation.

"She speaks!" She gasps as we make our way down the stairs. She looks back at me smiling as she leads me through a living room. It is huge, there are many desks and couches. The thing that stands out the most to me is the huge fireplace. I am living in luxury.

I don't take much time to look around the room when she leads me to the exit. A huge door swings open exposing a painting on the other side.

"Hello, darlings. Lily, I don't know how you can be friends with her she's very grumpy." The portrait says shaking her head at me.

Wait.

One.

Fucking.

Minute.

Am I at Hogwarts?

The Hogwarts?

Hoggy Warty Hogwarts?

Holy Shit.

Wait, I'm a Gryffindor? I thought I was a Ravenclaw, even Pottermore said I was Ravenclaw, and I took it twice.

"What are you staring at?" The lady asks giving me a dirty look.

"Come on now" Lily ushers me out.

Let's get the facts straight; I'm a Hogwarts student, my best friend is Lily and we are now going to the great hall for breakfast. Well, I guess my birthday came early, lucky for me.

I felt up my robe as we walk, just as I suspected I have a wand in my robe pocket. That is so cool.

After what felt like an eternity of walking, we finally make it to the grand entrance. I couldn't help but marvel at the beautiful architecture, it's truly a masterpiece.

"Why are you staring at everything? What's gotten into you? "Lily asks as we walk over to the Gryffindor table.

"I don't know. I just feel as if I'm seeing this all for the first time."

We sit down in an area that doesn't have many occupants. My mouth waters as I stare at the food in front of us, I lick my lips and thank every godly being I can think of for giving me this opportunity to eat this food. I stack waffles and fruit onto my plate and fill my goblet with the first drink to reach my fingers.

Before I can take my first bite, four boys position themselves in front of us. Two of the boys had brown hair, one had blond hair, while the fourth had long black curls. His hair looked too soft. The boy with the dark hair had his grey eyes locked on mine, a smirk pulling at his lips. He sent me a quick wink before looking over to the rest of the boys.

"Oh boy," Lily grumbles.

"Well look what we have over here," said the pretty boy with the black flowing locks.

"Oh my, what a sight," said another boy with dark messy hair.

"Looks like we have Grayson Potter awake and eating breakfast on time," the first boy gapes, his eyes wide.

POTTER? I'm a Potter?

"It's a miracle."

"Guys, leave her alone before she hexes you." The boy with the scarred face said. "Or do you not remember her warning hexes from last week?"

"Oh, don't remind me. I can still hear the ringing in my ears," the boy with messy hair said, looking at me with a worried look.

Lily sighs and looks at me. When I don't reply she looked at me with narrowed eyes.

"Oh, Evans. Did you think we forgot about you?"

EVANS?

I've been hanging out with Lily Evans. My best friend on this earth is Lily Evans. THE Lily Evans. I cannot believe this. What a legend. Wait, if she's Evans than that must mean-

"Take a look at this space cadet. Potter? Care to share your deep thoughts with the rest of us darling?" I clench my jaw and stare back at who I assume to be Sirius. "Or would you rather keep your thoughts about me a secret? I mean knowing your filthy brain, I think you'd rather keep them quiet."

"Oi! That's my sister that you're talking about!" The person I can only assume is James said.

Wait, wait, wait. Hold the fuck up. SISTER? Like relation by blood? I've never seen this man in my life.

I decide it is better to just ignore this and start feasting on this glorious meal.

Oh, that was so the right decision. Everything my taste buds touch is cooked to perfection. There isn't anything wrong with any of it. And trust me I did try as much as I could shovel down my throat. I don't have time to worry about who I am with when I have this gourmet meal in front of me.

"Woah, Gray slow down. You don't want to choke." Lily says glancing at me.

"You're eating as if this is your last meal, are you ok?" Remus asks,

"Oh, she's just carbing up for the quidditch tryouts this afternoon," James says looking very excited.

Lily sighs, shaking her head, "And what if she's not trying out this year."

She elbows my side discreetly. I decide to play along, it's not like I actually even know what position I play.

"Yea, I was thinking, maybe I won't play this year" James and Sirius' faces mimic each other with looks of pure horror.

"That's not funny"

"You take that back"

"You must be joking. You have Potter blood, of course, you're trying out. Plus, you and Sirius are an unmatched pair of beaters." James says proudly.

"We are literally the best; don't you dare quit on me. Plus, we make a good-looking pair," Sirius says with a wink.

"Ah yes, because looks matter when you're flying so fast nobody can see your face." Lily says snidely, "Besides, if she doesn't join the quidditch team that means we can finally be rid of you. Well, I mean I can, she's stuck with you." She said directed at James.

"Oh, you'll never be rid of me Evans," James chuckles as he winks at Lily.

Oh, the feels are hitting me hard.

I avert my gaze away from the cuteness and find myself looking at the headmasters table. My eyes lock with a familiar face. The mysterious man watches me carefully, his expression is not the same as when we met in the woods. He seems to be in deep conversation with the young female professor beside him. Every so often I catch them glancing over at me.

Well, this can't be good.

* * *

Word Count: 1523

May 18, 2020

* * *

** Chapter 4: First Jump **

"When is the next Hogsmeade trip?" I ask Lily, shifting my gaze off of the headmaster.

"There should be one this weekend, why?" She asks glancing at me as she takes a sip from her glass.

"I think it would do me good to leave this castle." I mean as much as I'd love to stay in this castle I need to get out, the more that I'm around these people the more my anxiety spikes. There's so much that I don't know that I should know.

"You've never wanted to go. You say that it's too populated by couples and that the amount of people makes you claustrophobic." She stares at me bewildered before her lips curl up into a smirk. "You're going on a date. Who is it? Who's finally sparked your interest?"

"A date?" Sirius asks his eyebrows shooting up in surprise, leaning into our conversation from across the table. "With who?"

"My sister is not going on a date! I mean, not unless I talk to the guy first, who's the bloke? I'm gonna' need to have a talk with him." James says spying around the room.

"Have you seriously not noticed all the guys that look her way. When we walk through the hall, guys break their necks trying to get a glimpse at her. One date is going to be the least of your worries," Lily smirks, apparently knowing my dating life bothered him.

James' jaw clenched, his focus remaining on his food rather than this conversation

"I bet it's Travis, you've been talking to him for a while now, haven't you?" Lily says teasingly. I look at her, an eyebrow raised, "Don't act like I don't catch you sneaking out late at night. Or see the glances towards him during transfigurations. I mean, unless there's another boy that you fancy." She gives me a knowing look.

"Sneaking out at night?" James sputters, chocking on his drink, making everyone turn to him. Although, I notice Sirius smirk at me and look away.

"Nah, she would never spend time on a bloke like him," Sirius laughs, his eyes lift from his plate to meet my own. I stare into grey eyes. It was like he thought we were both in on a secret joke but, I didn't get it.

"She's 14, she's not dating or sneaking out to see anyone," James said, his face getting red, "The Marauders will ensure it."

"Oh boy," Lily sighed.

"For sure, I can take first watch tonight," Sirius says giving me a knowing look as if some sort of secret inside joke. Though, I had no clue what he was referring to. He tilted his head and his face scrunched in confusion, "Oi, Grayson. Did you jump?" Sirius asked, turning his body towards you.

"What?" I ask confused. "I haven't even moved; how could I have jumped?"

"No, like in time," He watched me carefully but I had no clue what he was talking about.

I noticed the rest of them quiet down and start to look over at me. Examining me, more like.

"What are you talking about? No, I didn't jump in time, this is just a dream. Hogwarts is-"Before I could finish my mouth was covered.

"Spoilers. You warned us about this. Though this may be in a book you read, that was another universe. This is real. Spoiling or ruining events will have chain reactions." Lily said, looking me in the eyes.

"So, this is her first jump?" James asked, looking at me.

"She doesn't remember us?" Sirius asked, looking at me with a hint of sadness.

"No, I don't think she does," Peter says, I try to contain my glare.

"It's strange, it's a yearly jump though, not on the same date nor is it done sequentially, " Remus says as he pushes eggs around his plate.

"What are you talking about?" I ask, looking to someone for answers.

"Have you heard of time travelling?" Lilly asks. I nod my head, "Well, that's what you do. However, you change age depending on the year. I can't really explain much more, our past is your future."

"You jump to another year at random, you don't get to choose when and at a random date you jump again," Remus explains, "This is gonna be tough, since it's your first jump, but, the last time we saw you, you were happy. You made the best out of what you got. There hasn't really been an explanation as to why this happens, but it's happened since you were in 1st year. To us, this is your 4th jump."

"Though, technically this is your first," Lily says.

"Wow, that's a lot," I sigh, "Would you mind introducing yourselves and telling me a few things. I just want to try and get to know you since I'm so far behind. Actually, can you start with the year and date?"

"We're all in 4th year. Today's date is September 10th 1974. My names James Potter and I am your twin brother. We have both been playing quidditch since we could fly on a broom. Tonight, is Quidditch tryouts, me, you and Sirius will go out before practice to see if you can try out or not. It should be in your blood but we don't want to take any chances," James said, "Oh, also, when we were 6, you decided it would be fun to throw a bludger straight at me when we were playing. I fell down from my broom and ended up getting a scar on my shoulder from landing on a rock."

"Wow," I say in shock. It seemed me and James are close. "I had good aim for a 6-year-old."

"Yea, one of the best aims I've ever seen," Sirius said with a small smile.

"My name is Peter, Peter Pettigrew, we-we usually go to Honey Dukes together. We also, are reading the same book at the moment, "Where the Red Fern Grows". We would talk about it when we had the time, between homework and quidditch." Peter said, smiling shyly at me.

"Ohh, I'll have to read the book to continue the tradition" I reply. I have to forget what happens in Harry Potter. Push that down.

"Ohh, you don't have to" He insists.

"No, I want to try and get back to normal."

"I'm Remus, we tend to study, me, you, and Lily. We tend to get a lot of work done when undisturbed by the two troublemakers and Peter. They always get us off track," he looks at me with a smirk. "Although, my favourite memory of our little group is when we hung out by this tree near the lake last year. All six of us. We were laughing and telling jokes. Sirius was flirting and being obnoxious while you were rolling your eyes and being equally as obnoxious."

"Haha, right, and then Sirius threw you over his shoulder and threatened to throw you in the lake. You said, Black, I swear, if you throw me in the lake, you're coming in with me." Lily added, mimicking Sirius and I.

"You both were soaked," Peter laughed.

"My name is Lily Evans, your best friend in the whole entire world"

"Besides me of course," Sirius added with a smirk, though his eyes didn't have the same glimmer as before.

"As if. Anyways, as you saw this morning, I wake you up in the morning, since you tend to sleep in. Although, you're definitely not irresponsible. We both balance each other out. You're more of the 'make sure you don't forget to eat' kind of helpful. I tend to forget that at times when I'm studying." Lily says and then eats a piece of toast.

"Guess that leaves me," Sirius says with a smile. It doesn't reach his eyes though. "I am your true best friend, your partner in crime. We are a fantastic duo, on and off the quidditch pitch. We go to concerts together and you steal a lot of my clothes. You say it's because 'you like guys clothes' and 'James doesn't have as good of a style'. The second statement is painfully true," James hits Sirius on the arms. "Last summer, we had a bet with this lot that if we could go a week without talking, no verbal conversations or any retorts, they would pay for us to go to The Rolling Stones concert in September. We won, obviously, I mean, we're both very determined when we put our minds to it. The concert was amazing."

He stared at me with a soft smile and a dreamy look on his face. There was something that was making me believe there was more to the story. I didn't press. I don't know him well enough to go off of this hunch.

"Oh, most importantly, this lot has a bet to see how long until we get together for real."

My eyes widen at his statement.

"Ms Potter," I turn to see Dumbledore and McGonagall. "Can we have a word? The rest of you can head off to class now."

* * *

Word Count: 1522

May 18, 2020

* * *

**Chapter 5: Quidditch and Schedules**

"Yes sir," I say, following him and McGonnegal to Professor Dumbledoors office.

I look around at all the things, crowding the office. The portraits, books, and knickknacks. My eyes scan the many old books on the tall bookshelves lining the left wall, while the right showcased many portraits of moving people.

"Sit down, Ms Potter" Headmaster Dumbledore says, looking from the chair in from of his desk to where I stood.

I walk over to the chair and cautiously sit down. It felt weird to be called Ms Potter instead of Kinley. It felt wrong. Being here felt wrong. I knew that I shouldn't be here. I didn't belong in the wizarding world. This was all just a dream. I was sleeping.

"Do you know why you're here Ms. Potter?" Professor McGonagall asks cautiously.

Did they know as well? About the 'jumps'? I hope they had a better explanation for what was happening.

"Not exactly," I state, I didn't know how much to reveal. "If I'm being honest, I know that I don't belong here. I don't even know how I got here. I feel like I'm dreaming."

"Well, Ms Potter," Dumbledore hummed, as he opened a notebook. "In my notebook, we have your jumps in order, so far. You do not give any more detail than the year you jump to, to reduce any mistakes in the timeline. Your future self explained that this year would be your first year at Hogwarts. Due to your special circumstances, we have modified your classes. You will still join the rest of the students in regular classes however, you will be tutored to keep up appearances. Only a small group of people know about your condition."

"Now, we do not believe that more people knowing about your condition is a bad thing, however, we don't fully understand it so we'd like to keep it to a small circle of people. As said for the tutoring, I believe that your group of friends will be capable of keeping you up to speed," McGonagall gives me a pointed look, "I know it will be difficult to catch up and teachers will not be lenient to your condition."

Of course not. This might be difficult? I have to learn 4 years of lessons in 1 year. I just hope, I did not overload my courses. I mean, these are Hogwarts classes so, they're more interesting. However, that does not mean that I want to spend all my free time catching up in every class.

"Do you have my schedule?" I ask, "I would like to know what my classes are like so that I can plan out how to catch up."

"It shouldn't be too hard with your friend group, they in all of your classes. However, Ms Potter, Mr Black shares the exact schedule as you do," Professor Dumbledore looked at me then to Professor McGonagall, they shared a look. Like a secret that I didn't know, "He may be of assistance to catching you up so speed in your classes. However," he passed me a sheet of paper. "Here is a second schedule," and three binders. "And this is the material you have missed over the past 3 years. Including, tests and I believe you took notes, they would help you dearly. I trust you with these, use them wisely and study hard."

**_Monday_ **

_**Care of Magical Creatures** _

_Silvanus Kettleburn_

_Classroom 5F, First Floor - COMC - 401 - 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m._

_**Charms** _

_Filius Flitwick_

_Classroom 2E, Charms Corridor, Third Floor - CHRM - 401 - 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m._

**_Tuesday_ **

_**History of Magic** _

_Cuthbert Binns- HOM - 401_

_Classroom 4F, First Floor - 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m._

_**Transfiguration** _

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Classroom 1B, Ground Floor - TNFG - 401 - 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m._

_**Wednesday** _

_**Herbology** _

_Pomona Sprout_

_GreenHouse - HERB - 401 - 8:30 a.m. -11:30 a.m._

_**Charms** _

_Filius Flitwick_

_Classroom 2E, Charms Corridor, Third Floor_ _\- CHRM - 401 - 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m._

_**Astronomy** _

_Aurora Sinistra_

_Astronomy Tower - ASTR - 401 - 10 p.m. - 1 a.m._

_**Thursday** _

_**History of Magic** _

_Cuthbert Binns_

_Classroom 4F, First Floor_ _\- HOM_ _\- 401 - 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m._

_**Potions** _

_Horace Slughorn_

_Classroom 10 E, First Floor- PTNS - 401 - 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m._

_**Friday** _

_**Defense Against the Dark Arts** _

_Demetrius Pentwise_

_Classroom 3C, Third Floor - DADA - 401 - 8:30 a.m. -11:30 a.m._

_**Divination** _

_Morticia Malvoire_

_North Tower - DIV - 401 - 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m._

9 classes, oh boy. This seems like a busy schedule. Though it differs from my old high school schedule, it seems more like a college schedule than one for high school. There didn't seem like enough time to learn anything, much less be on the quidditch team.

"Yes, Ms. Potter, you will need to put in a lot of work if you want to pass. Your books and other class material should be in your room already, this is the second week of classes. Yesterday, you came to check in with us, knowing the jump would be today, from memory, and told us that your classwork is up to date until next week, giving some extra time to catch before having assignments, as well. Also, I hope to see you on the quidditch pitch this afternoon."

"I was wondering if James, Sirius and I could practise before tryouts." I say, "They want to make sure that I am still able to fly. They believe that although I have no memory of flying, it's in my blood."

"Yes, you may, although, I will supervise. I will not tolerate any trouble form the three of you."

"Trouble?"

"Your group seems to generate trouble wherever it goes and I will not have any of you unable to try out this year."

"Yes, Professor."

"All right, now that we have that settled. I will have Mr. Black escort you to your next class, History of Magic with Professor Binns." Dumbledore says, with a smile, his eyes twinkle in delight.

"Mr Black? Isn't he in class?" I ask, I mean, I read the series but I didn't think that being called upon made the person appear.

"Nope, I'm all yours," A voice said from behind me. I didn't have to look at him to see the grin on his face.

I turn to see the one and only Sirius Black leaning against the door frame.

"I am not in Muggle Studies so, I'll be escorting Ms. Potter to our next class," Sirius said with a smile. "I'll escort her to class until she is comfortable enough to walk it on her own and not get lost."

"We shall see," Dumbledore says with a soft smile.

"Hurry along, before you are both late," McGonagall says sternly to both of us.

Sirius leads me out of Dumbledore's office with a grin.

"So, History of Magic will be an hour and a half, ending at 11:30 and then we're free until Transfigurations at 1:00. But don't worry, you're seated next to me, so at least you'll have a good view," Sirius says with a wink. There was something more in his eyes as if talking to me hurt him. "Lily, Remus, James and Peter are all in this class as well. You may not of the rest of the gang, outside of classes, Lily and Remus tend to take every class, and James being James follows Lily to every class to try and be closer to her. Peter just wants to be included and knew he'd be more or less the third wheel with us. But you'll have me while they're in other classes, we have the same schedule and all."

"What do we usually do when not in class?" Sirius went silent, his jaw clenched for a second.

"We-we hang out by the lake, relax in the sun. At lunch, when it's nice out, we have picnics," his smile was relaxed. Thoughts of good memories flooded his head. "You and Peter would talk about the newest book that you guys were reading. Lily and Remus would talk about schoolwork, although you have been known to join that conversation. Lily doesn't always join us though, preferring," he paused grimacing, "other company. James tended to be in a better mood when she did join us." He stopped in front of a door, "Welcome to History of Magic," he threw his arms wide, showcasing the plain-looking wooden door, "Are you excited? This is your first class and all."

"Yea, I guess. Oh! Shit. I don't have my books! Are they required? Or a notebook, or pencils. Oh no!"

How could I go to class without anything? I would be further behind than I already was. Oh, I hope past me, or rather future me, took good notes. It was going to be hell to learn 3 years without notes.

"Don't worry," Sirius laughed and handed over a bag. I didn't even notice that he was carrying one. He reached in and pulled out a textbook, a notebook and a pen. "This is your class bag, I ran back to grab it before going to Dumbledore's office. I put mine in it as well, I hope you don't mind that I'm borrowing a pen."

"Oh, thank you and no, I definitely don't mind"

* * *

Hey guys,

I know that the schedule is a little weird, but honestly, I couldn't really understand the Hogwarts schedule so I made my own. Also, she's using pens and notebooks because as an avid note-taker, I would not be able to deal with a million pieces of parchment for 3 years of notes. 

I hope you enjoy!

Word Count: 1559

May 18, 2020

* * *

**Chapter 6: Shades of Pink**

Sirius held the door open for me and I walked into a classroom. One side of the room had bookshelves that towered over students. There weren't many desks, probably around 30, in pairs of two. However, at the moment the room was empty. At the front of the class, there was a big desk with a big high-backed chair. There was a chalkboard behind the desk lining the wall, with a clock perfectly centred above it. On the desk, there was a big globe among stacks of papers.

"Uh, where, um, do I go?" I asked, looking back as the door shuts behind Sirius.

It just dawned on me now, that I was alone with him. His eyes held mine and he walked closer to me. The grey seemed very dark in this light. Shadows casting across his face making the angles in his face more present. Not that his face was super angular, he was only 14. He still had a bit of a babyface.

"Here," He grabbed my hand and guided me to where our desks were, three rows back and to the left, next to the window. "You usually sit there," he pointed to the aisle seat, "but you can sit in either."

"The aisle is fine"

I sat down, he followed suit sitting next to me. I checked the clock at the front of the room. 9:45.

"What time do classes let out?" I ask, taking my stuff out of my bag.

"About 10 minutes before the class ends," he looked at the clock then back to me, "So, Lily and Remus will be sitting in the seats next to us, Lily will be right beside you. James and Peter will be behind us with James on your side and Peter on mine."

"Oh ok," I turned to him, "I just wanted to thank you, you've been a lot of help. I don't know what I did to have a friend like you."

Sirius seemed taken aback. He wouldn't make eye-contact. His gaze rested on the clock at the front of the classroom.

"Yea, we've always been very good," he paused, "friends"

Deciding that I better prep for class, I turned to my notes and saw that they were very organised.

_September 5th, 1974_

_History of Magic: Class 2_

I replicated the heading on a new page. I was guessing that each class had a different notebook. If that was the case my room must've been filled with them. Although, I didn't see any this morning. That being said, I also didn't notice my messenger bag. I wonder if I also kept a diary or at least a list of people that I knew. It was going to be hard to fake knowing people.

My eyes wandered over to Sirius. His focused remained on his notebook. His hair was in curls, falling slightly into his face. His face contrasted his hair, looking a natural pale. He bit his lip in concentration as he continuously wrote. He looked gorgeous in the sunlight that shone through the window. He almost looked like a black and white painting.

"Sirius?"

"Yes?" He turned to look at me with furrowed brows. His grey eyes studying me, his full attention focused on me as he sets down his borrowed pen.

"Why did you come and help me? Why not my brother? Or Lily?" I ask biting my lip.

"Well, uh, I-I had a free period. They're both in Muggle Studies right now," his eyes flicked down to my lips for a second before returning to meet my eyes. "Plus, we were pretty close, you know before your jump. Plus, it's not like you know either of them better at the moment."

I couldn't figure it out but there was a hint of sadness in his expression. It seemed that he was sad when he talked to me. Did something happen between us in the past? I mean, judging from what they said about my 'jumps' I wasn't going to remember. I mean he's gorgeous, I was definitely attracted to him and from what I can gather he seems like a good guy. It's definitely possible that we dated. It's not like I could come straight out and ask him though. That'd be a little awkward, especially if the answer was no.

"Since we didn't share last period with the others, would we hang out together?" I ask. I wanted to know more about what kind of relationship the two of us had. Not necessarily romantic, but in general. At my question, his cheeks turned a light pink.

"We, uh, we would normally hang out. We uh, we um worked on homework and would get a late breakfast together. Depending on the day, we would either work in the common room or we would go by the lake."

I wonder if it was his leather jacket in my trunk this morning. I mean he would definitely look good in one. It was a men's jacket too, plus at breakfast, he mentioned how I would steal his clothes.

"Why do we have the same schedule?" His cheeks turned a darker shade of pink.

"Well," Sirius coughed, "I wasn't interested in taking any of the other courses offered and apparently, neither were you. Where are all these questions coming from?"

"I'm just curious."

Before I could ask anything, else Lily entered, followed by James.

"Good, you got here," Lily laughed, "Knowing Sirius, I thought you guys wouldn't be here on time."

The moment Lily said this she froze, glancing at James, almost like she forgot that he was here. James, Sirius and I turn to face her, James and I sharing the same puzzled expression while Sirius' cheeks were aflame while he glared at Lily.

"What do you mean?" James asked, "It's not like this classroom is far from the office."

I looked over to Sirius but he wouldn't meet my eyes as he gazed out the window.

"I, uh, just meant that knowing Sirius, he'd get lost."

"Sirius knows this place like the back of his hand Lils, he wouldn't get lost." James chuckled shaking his head.

They both sat down at their desks, apparently finished with the previous conversation. More and more students filled the room and as the clock struck 10 all the desks were occupied.

"Good morning class," A ghost says, flying through the chalkboard.

I hold back a scream as I flinch. Our teacher is a ghost? That might have been useful to know. I feel Sirius' hand wrap around my right hand as he looks over at me with a smirk. I loosen my grip on my pen, I hadn't realized that I was holding it so tightly. I roll my eyes at him and his hand fell back to his side of the desk, although it stayed relatively close to mine. His pinky was stretched towards mine.

"Today we will be continuing on the Goblin Rebellion," Professor Binns stated.

Going in, I thought this class was going to drone on and hard to keep up with, but honestly, it wasn't that difficult. Professor Binns would make sure to explain things thoroughly and make clear which dates were important and which weren't. I understood how some students could be bored and fall asleep. Sirius would rest his head in his hand and stare out the window when he was uninterested. When he took notes, his brows would furrow in concentration. His notes tended to be covered in little doodles.

"Look at that, your first class is done," Sirius said nudging me. He started to put away his notes and he handed back my pen.

"I guess so," I say packing my things away into my bag, following Sirius as he exits the classroom.

"So? How was that?" Sirius asks, "As exciting as you were hoping?"

"Oh definitely," I say sarcastically, "Honestly, not that bad. It wasn't too hard to keep up."

"Oh no!" James exclaims, throwing his hands over his heart, "She truly is like you, it wasn't your corruption after all Lils!"

Lily rolls her eyes as she watches this scene go down. I catch Remus and Peter laugh, while Sirius grins.

"Are we really related?" I ask Lily, my eyebrows raised, "Am I really that dramatic?"

"I literally had to drag you out of bed this morning," She gave me an incredulous look, "What do you mean 'am I that dramatic'? Yes. You are."

The guys laughed as my jaw dropped. I jutted out my lip, faking hurt.

"Hurtful," I say with a pout.

"Yea, I'm sure," Lily said, rolling her eyes, "I'm going to go and hang out with my friend Severus for lunch but I'll see you later on. I'm sure these boys can manage without me. I mean, Remus will be here."

"Yea, all good. I'll see you later!" I say with a smile and a wave.

Meanwhile, James and Sirius rolled their eyes. Remus just sighed watching James and Sirius. Lily walked away ignoring them completely.

"How can she go see Snivellus instead of us, especially while my sister is still in the first day of her 'jumps'," James says, running his hand through his hair. "Goober is disoriented and Hogwarts is a new experience and yet she's running off to see Snivellus."

"James it's ok, it's not like she left me alone," I say, as James watches her walk away. "Do you really call me Goober?"

"No, it's not! She just abandoned you for Snivellous!" James shouted, causing students.

"Yea, he does call you Goober," Sirius chuckled, "He's been calling you that for as long as I can remember. It's a little weird if you ask me."

"Oh, shove off Padfoot."

"Calm down, Tike" I sigh, rolling my eyes causing all four boys' heads to snap in my direction.

"Say that again," James says, stepping closer.

"Calm down, Tike?"

"Oh my god!" James shot forward and hugged me lifting me into the air. "You're starting to remember! That's your nickname for me."

"Am I going to remember the previous years?" I ask, wrapping my arms around James' neck as he spun me then set me down by Sirius.

"No," Remus pipped up. "You told us that this started the day you rode the train to Hogwarts. You were in the cabin with Peter and I. You will start to remember your childhood with James and other memories before you came to Hogwarts."

"But that can't be right. I had another life; I have all my memories from then. I had a mom and a dad. I had an older brother. I wasn't born in the '60s. This can't be real. I have a mom, a dad and an older brother, I have friends at school. I have a complete life that got left behind only to be dropped here." I say, my breathing starts to get heavy and my brain feels like everything is in slow motions. I look around to try and stay grounded but, I feel myself get weak and the world seemed to go dark. 

* * *

Word Count: 1846 

May 18, 2020

* * *

** Chapter 7: Woman in the Yellow Dress **

TW: Continuing panic attack.

______________________

No, this is just a dream. You are playing along and getting attached. When you open your eyes, you will be back in your bed. They aren't real. They aren't real. But what if they are. What if they are real? What if everything before this was a lie?

Arms wrap around me and lift me. I can hear voices but they sound distant.

Were my friends and family fake? Where did those memories come from? Were they the dream all along? Did I dream up that family? That school? If Dumbledore was the mystery forest man, was he just a vision telling me to wake up in the morning? Wait, no, that's impossible these are fictional characters. I read about them in a children's book. What if that was fake too?

"Grayson"

Did I dream about reading about James and Lily's future kids? Is Harry Potter going to be born? Is Peter going to betray his friends? What if this happens? I can't stop it if those books are the future. You can't change the future without serious consequences.

"Madam Pomfrey!"

I can feel myself being set on a bed. Both of my hands are being held, I'm guessing by different people. I knew that one was James. I'm guessing the second was Sirius. I don't know why though. I couldn't understand why Sirius was so close to me. I'll have to ask Lily about it later. The comment she made earlier; I wonder what it refers to. Have we been late to class before?

"Is she ok?"

My head throbs with the amount of thoughts rushing through my mind. The hand on my left side grips tightly and I feel them raise my hand, enveloping it with both hands. I felt tears fall onto my hand. The hand on the right was put back on the bed as the person got up to greet the person who approached us.

"From what I can tell, and from what you've told me, she fainted due to anxiety and stress," An unfamiliar voice said. The hand on the left got squeezed tighter. "She should wake soon."

"Thank you, Madame Pomfrey," James said, as the rest of the boys mumbled thank you's.

"Boys, you should go grab some lunch before you have to go to class. It's 12:00 already" Madame Pomfrey states.

"You two stay, Peter and I will run down and grab something for the five of us," Remus says, he didn't sound particularly close.

"Ok, ok-ok, yea that sounds good," James says, picking up my hand, "Thank you guys so much."

"It's ok Prongs, she means a lot to all of us," Peter pipes up, "We'll be right back."

I hear their footsteps leave the room and the door shuts. The room falling silent.

"Are you crying Padfoot?" James asked, his voice was light in a joking matter but there was something in his tone that was darker and more threatening.

"Yea-yea, I-I gue-guess I am," Sirius stuttered, he sounded cautious. Like he was afraid of James.

"Do you care about my sister?" All light fell from his voice. I didn't like the way he sounded. It was scary, his playful demeanour vanished from his voice.

"Of-of course I do! We all care about your sister, Prongs."

"No, no, no! Sirius, do you care for my sister?" James said putting emphasis on care.

"What are you talking about James? Of course, I care about your sister. We all care-" James cut him off.

"No! Not everyone. You! Do YOU care for my sister?"

"What?" Sirius' voice was very soft and gentle. He sounded fragile, as if he was on the edge of crying. Well, crying more than he already was.

"Do you love her?" James sounded different. As if all the all of the anger deflated from inside of him.

No matter his tone, I did not want to hear the answer.

"James?" I creak, my throat felt dry. My eyes squinted open to see James and Sirius sitting on either side of me.

"Grayson!" James exclaimed as he helped me sit up. His joyful tone was back in his voice. His hair looked as if he'd been running his hair through it constantly. "Sirius, go get Madame Pomfrey."

Sirius didn't say anything, he just dropped my hand and left.

"How are you feeling Goober?" James asked, I looked over at him and he was very close to the cot. His hair was a mess. He smiled at me, though it did not reach his eyes. He was putting on a facade for my sake.

"My head hearts," I say rubbing my head.

"Here you are," Madame Pomfrey pulled back the curtain handing me water and a vial with an orange hue, "This will take care of the headache."

I nod and drink the liquid, chasing it with water. It didn't taste horrible; it had an earthy taste to it with the thickness of cough syrup. Sirius returned to the chair on my left side. His hand went out to grab my hand but he looked up at James, who was glaring, and put his hand back on his lap.

"We're back!" Remus shouts as he and Peter walk through the door.

"Longsnout, you're up!" Peter exclaimed, he rushed over with a picnic basket.

"Longsnout?" I ask, my head tilted in his direction.

"A nickname, I guess you wouldn't remember, we gave it to you last year," Peter replied looking down.

"You are free to leave Ms. Potter, as long as you keep your anxiety low you shouldn't faint again. Make sure you eat a good lunch though to keep your blood sugars up," Madame Pomfrey explains.

"Thank you," I reply. Right, because I can control anxiety.

James helped me out of bed and guided me to the door. He kept an arm around my waist.

"James, you don't need to keep your arm around my waist," I say, rolling my eyes.

"I'm not having you collapse on me again," He replied.

"Tike, I'm not going to collapse."

"Ok, if you say so, Goober."

Out of pure coincidence, when James let go, I tripped over my shoelace. I didn't fall too far when arms grabbed me, pulling me into a warm chest.

"Woah, easy there Longsnout," Sirius says as his arm held me to his chest. "Maybe it'd be better if I carried you," Sirius crouched in front of me. "Get on my back."

If I wasn't wearing pants, I would've refused. As I was going to hop on, James intervened.

"Woah, Woah, Woah, no," James intervened, "Get on my back. I'm your brother."

Was he hung up on their little spat from earlier? I decided not to argue and get on his back.

We made it to the lake and we found the big tree next to it. It was gorgeous. The trees leaves were starting to change. Some of the orange leaves from the tree had fallen into the lake. Their bright orange contrasted with the dark blue waters. I could see the green seaweed from the shallows. The water got darker the farther out it went. Every so often you would see bubbles, I wondered what mysteries were held in the depth. There were probably a few mystical creatures.

Sirius unfolded a blanket and laid it out under the tree. Remus and Peter set down the baskets and started taking out the food. I walked over and sat between James and Sirius. Remus passed out a couple of sandwiches and cans of coke. We ate in a comfortable silence. I looked over at Remus to see him reading a textbook. Peter was very intently eating his sandwich. When I looked over at Sirius, he was already looking at me with a smile.

"Goober, do you remember when you came up with the nickname Tike?" James asked.

James' mouth was pressed into a firm line. He stared at me; his eyes looked stormy. I dug through my mind trying to find a connection. I don't even remember why I called him that the first time, it was like an instinct. Other than the harsh look on his face, he looked serene sitting on the grass. The grass was very pigmented, a dark green.

A scene of a young boy flashed through my head. He had dark brown hair and chubby cheeks, he looked about 4 or 5. He was riding around in one of those cars where you would run your feet on the ground and push yourself forward. The car had a yellow roof while the body was red. A big smiley face was stickered on the front of it. The boy was running along a grassy field. I look down and see that I'm also in one of those cars, but I remain still with a juice box in my hands. I'm wearing a bright pink dress with white flowers on it. I looked up and saw that one of his wheels got stuck on a branch causing him to flip in the car. My younger self got out of my car and raced over to him. My juice box forgotten on the ground.

"Tike!" I screamed as the little boy wailed. "Momma!"

Our mom rushed over to us. Her dark brown hair pulled up into a sleek ponytail. She was wearing a bright yellow dress with a red belt. She knelt down in front of me and grabbed the little boy out of the little car.

"Aww, James it's ok," she said as she hugged him in her arms. His sobs came to an end as she rubbed small circles on his back. "That was quite a big spill you had there."

I blinked looking over at James, present day.

"You flipped in one of those little tike cars," I smiled wide at James. One of my memories came back!

James smiled and finished off his sandwich.

"Wait, transfiguration is next, what are we learning?" I ask with wide eyes. I did not want to be behind in a class where people could see me fail.

"We're learning the colour changing charm," Remus said, barely looking up from his textbook.

"The theory or are we actually doing it?" I ask, I held my breath.

"Of course, we're actually doing it. Well, attempting to at least. Come on, you should know this," Sirius laughed and then he tensed, "Oh shit."

* * *

Word Count: 1739

May 18, 2020

* * *


	2. Chapter 8: The Grey Coke Can

"Oh no," Remus said looking up from his book, "McGonagall knows the situation but we still need to keep this quiet and make sure the other students don't find out. If you don't know what's going on, they're going to suspect something, you've always been ahead in terms of school work. Ok, ok, I've already been able to produce the spell so, we'll just have you complete it now."

"Do we have enough time; she's never done a spell in her life?" James added.

"She can do it," Sirius said, giving me a reassuring smile.

"Ok, we have," Remus checked his watch, "30 minutes," his eyes widened, "It's fine, ok so let's start," He put his coke can in front of me, "In 30 minutes, this can will not be red."

Learning this charm consisted of Remus explaining how this charm is cast followed by the simple hand motion and incantation. In theory, it seemed easy. In theory, that is.

"Colovaria!" I say glaring at the can. I've been saying these words for the past ten minutes and we were running out of time. I should have known how to do this by now. I'm an imbecile stuck in a fourth years body. I should have three years under my belt and yet I have none. "Colovaria!" I try again and stomp my foot glaring at the still red can from where I stood, "This isn't working! I'm never going to be able to do this."

"Hey, hey, hey," Sirius said coming up behind me. "Here, relax," he wrapped his arm around my waist pulling me into his chest, I felt myself relax against him, like we were moulding together. His other arm repositioned my arm that was holding my wand, "Ok, now, say coloVAria"

"coloVAria"

Like magic, the can changed to grey. The same grey as Sirius' eyes. Let's hope none of the others noticed that ... coincidence.

"Oh my god, I did it!" I say turning and throwing my arms around Sirius' neck. As if on instinct, his arms wrapped themselves around my waist pulling me tight to him.

"Yea, you did it," He whispered, his face nuzzled in my hair. He sighed and pulled away. His big grey eyes looked at me with a hint of sadness. His mouth was pressed into a firm line.

"You did it!" James smiled, though his eyes glanced from Sirius to me.

"Haha yea, thanks to Sirius," I say with a soft smile.

"Why grey?" Remus asked picking up the can.

"Oh, uh, well-well, I-I like-like the colour," I reply staring at my shoes. They were black boots with a zipper on the heel. "It's like a storm."

I had to admit, although knowing Sirius a day, I might have been developing a bit of a crush. I mean, he was very attractive. But he was also really kind. I know that in many fanfictions that I read from where I'm from depicting him as a player but I've spent half of a day with him and he hasn't really made any advances at me. I mean, not that I expect him to. My brother is his best friend. I'm probably off-limits or whatever the "bro code" would call it. Or, maybe he just isn't interested in me. I mean, everyone has their type. Some guys don't like girls that are bigger than them and that's ok.

"Hey, Sirius," A girl greeted walking up to us. She was a Gryffindor. She had blonde hair; it went it past her shoulders. Her bright blue eyes lit up as she smiled at all of us. "Hey guys," She said smiling, I wasn't sure if I knew her or not. She ran her fingers through her hair with a soft smile, "Hey Grayson," I gave her a small smile back. I don't know how well I knew her.

She was wearing a skirt with cute little heeled boots. Not that she needed the height, however, it did show off her long legs though. She was wearing the school uniform; the skirt was definitely rolled a little higher than allowed. Though, not noticeable unless she had her hands by her sides. She was very well kept. Though, she wasn't wearing any makeup. She didn't need to.

"Sirius, I was wondering if you could walk me to class," She moved closer and her hand grabbed onto his hand, "I feel like I haven't hung out with you in forever."

I wonder what her relationship with Sirius was like. Not that it mattered. That was his business. I didn't care to hear his response so I started to pack up our picnic. Peter followed, helping me fold the blankets. I looked back at the group and saw that the girl had left. So had Sirius.

"Who was she? Do I know her?" I ask my brother, passing him the picnic basket.

"Um, sort of, she's in our year, she's more of Sirius' friend than ours though," He replied shrugging, "That was Marlene McKinnon. I don't think you've talked to her more than a handful of times."

Even her name is beautiful. Marlene McKinnon. Marlene McKinnon and Sirius Black. Marlene Black. Marlene and Sirius Black. Man, even their names sounded good together. What am I thinking, I don't know him? I don't know her either. They're probably happy together. Maybe I was wrong earlier and me and Sirius are ex's and she's his new girlfriend. Not that it matters. I mean, I guess it does, that is my future but, it's his past.

"Something on your mind Goober?" James asked, looking at me with a concerned look.

"It's just hard not knowing who I know and who I don't," Wasn't completely a lie.

"It'll be ok, you'll get through this. Just know that we'll be here to help if you need it."

We returned the picnic supplies to the kitchen and quickly made our way to the transfiguration classroom with 3 minutes to spare. The room has four rows of three desks of two and had big windows on either side. At the front of the room was two big chalkboards. I noticed Lily and a guy with long black hair sitting at the back of the class on the right side. At the front of the class, Sirius was sitting on his desk talking to Marlene from earlier. A brown-haired boy sat next to him, though he was more invested in his book than their conversation.

"Who do I sit with?" I whisper to James as I follow him into the room.

"That would be me," Remus said from beside me. "Here."

Remus then grabbed my hand and proceeded to lead me to where we sat. We were in the third row on the left. Remus then sat in the window seat. Much like the setup Sirius and I had in History of Magic. James and Peter place themselves in the desk behind Sirius. I noticed that another girl had joined the conversation with Sirius and Marlene. She was a Slytherin girl with curly red hair and freckles. I could see her bright green eyes from here.

"Hey, Remus?"

"Yea?" He said as he was pulling out his textbook and notes.

"Do I know anyone in this class?"

"Well," he looked around, "You see that guy with Lily?"

I turned looking to see the guy with long black hair who was currently deep in conversation with said girl.

"That's Severus Snape. He and Lily have been friends since before Hogwarts. Him, James and Sirus have a sort of rivalry that progressively gets worse every year. Both sides aren't too great about it. They both tend to be territorial about Lily. Severus never really had a problem with you."

They were both turned to each other, Lily was frantically explaining something as Severus watched her. He watched her avid hand motions and frantic ramblings. Though, he looked very entertained and happy.

"Over there next to Sirius," Remus said turning to look over at the front row. "is Trevor Clifton. You guys typically study together and sometimes you'll sit with him at the dining hall. I'm not too sure how close you guys were though; you'd have to ask Lily."

I could only make out his locks of curly brown hair from here. His head still remained deep in his book, not noticing the increasing number of women surrounding his table. There was a new addition, a red-head who proceeded to laugh at their conversation, Marlene joining along. Their laughs floated through the class like ringing bells.

"That other girl with Sirius is Aries White, you don't know her though."

"Oh," I scrunch my eyebrows, "Why did you tell me her name if I don't know her?"

"Oh, come on, I see the way you look at him. Don't act like I'm blind," Remus said with a smirk.

"Good afternoon class," Professor McGonagall says looking around the classroom, making sure everyone is in their seats. "Today you will be changing the colour of this feather, from white to green."

Feathers were placed on each of our desks and students started to do the spell.

"Remember to think green," Remus said from beside me. "Not the grey of Sirius' eyes."

Oh shit. He knew. That's embarrassing.

"Green right," I close my eyes and picture grass, when I opened my eyes, I stared at the feather raising my wand, "ColoVAria"

Magically the feather turned green. I watched as the green flowed through the feather as if being painted.

"I did it!" I squeal hugging Remus.

"Yes, you did," He chuckled, patting my back.

"Well done, Ms. Potter," McGonagall said, her eyes twinkled with pride, "Would you like to demonstrate for the class?"

My mouth fell open. The class? Demonstrate in front of multiple people staring at me. Great, sure. Remus nudged me.

"Yes," I reply, watching the students turn towards me, not a white feather in sight. I look up and see Sirius smiling at me. James gave me thumbs up. Trevor gave me a big toothy grin.

"Good," McGonagall said, "Now turn the feather black."

Black? Ok, what's black? I thought of Sirius' raven hair. How soft it looked in the sunlight.

"Colorvaria"

The feathers green was quickly replaced by a jet-black colour.

"Very well done," McGonagall praised with a smile, "Any others?"

* * *

Learning magic, heck yea.

Word Count: 1723

May 19, 2020


	3. Chapter 9: Bludgers and Broomsticks

"Mr. Potter, Ms. Potter, and Mr. Black, can you come here for a moment?" Professor McGonagall asks from her desk.

I grabbed my bag, saying a quick goodbye to Remus before making my way to the front.

"So, Ms. Potter mentioned earlier that you would like to test her flying abilities before try-outs," she states.

"Yes," James answers, "We wanted to make sure that she was ready for practice. I mean, she's been playing since she could ride so I'm sure it'll come back to her."

"Yes, well I am free now, if you are available," McGonagall says, packing up her desk. 

"I, unfortunately, have class, "James responds.

"I'm free," Sirius pipes up, "Plus, I'm a beater so it will be easier to show her the ropes."

James' mouth formed a straight line but he nodded.

"Then it is settled," McGonagall said, "James, I will see you at try-outs. Both of you go get changed. Mr. Black, if you would lease show Ms. Potter where she keeps her broom, I will meet you both out there in 20 minutes."

"Yes professor," Sirius says as we both exit the classroom.

He leads me through the endless hallways and many flights of stairs finally reaching the portrait.

"Snapping dragon," Sirius says making the portrait open.

I ran up to my dorm. Where would I keep gym clothes? I search through my wardrobe and find pink leggings and matching sports bra. I put on a loose, beat-up Rolling Stones shirt that had the sleeves cut off. I tied my hair up into a tight pony tail. I threw on a pair of runners that I found near my bed and headed out to the common room. Sirius was waiting for me, standing at the bottom of the stairs. He was wearing a pair of joggers along with a Gryffindor jumper. He looked at my outfit, a smirk on his face. 

"Hello darling, looking a little scandalous for a quidditch. I love it," He chuckled, "No time to change now. Shall we?"

"We shall," he leads me out of the common room, "What should've I worn? Will McGonagall be angry with me?"

"Oh, not angry no," He shook his head, a grin plastered on his face, "You have a tendency to push the limit. Honestly, McGonagall would be pleased that you're not wearing short shorts. You've done that before; it was quite an experience. McGonagall was not too pleased with you."

Sirius led me out to the quidditch pitch and into the locker room. It was pretty big; the walls and lockers were painted outlining each team's area. The lockers on the wall closest to us were red for Gryffindor, across from us were blue for Ravenclaw, on the other side there were yellow lockers for Hufflepuff and then on the other wall was green for Slytherin. There were also, sex-specific bathrooms with showers. 

"So, here is your locker," Sirius said with his arms spread, "This is your locker, your combo is your 0916."

"September 16"

"Yea," Sirius avoided my eyes and unlocked my locker. "How'd you know?"

"It's easier to remember if it's a date," I shrug.

Sirius then unlocked his locker, which was right next to mine. I look in my locker to see a beautiful broom. It was red with yellow lightning bolts covering the handle. It was truly a gorgeous broom. I followed Sirius out onto the pitch. McGonagall was waiting for us with a box. It looked like the box from the movie. 

"Ms. Potter, do you understand the basics of Quidditch?" She asked me. I was glad for my knowledge of Harry Potter from the books, without it I'd be in trouble.

"Yes, professor."

"As a beater, what is your main objective?" She asked.

"Making sure my team members don't get hit by the bludgers."

"Correct. Alright, let's see if you can fly. Place your broom on the ground."

I do as she instructs, laying it down on the grass.

"Up," I demand, the broom rises straight to my hand. "Woah."

I feel power surge through the broom. It was waiting to be unleashed and used to its full potential. To soar through the sky.

I remember a tall man, looking very similar to James teaching me this. He had a big smile on his face when I first got the broom to rise to my hand. I could remember flying around my backyard, James chasing after me. 

"Ok, Ms. Potter mount your broom." She directs, "Mr. Black, make sure you stay sharp, I will not have any accidents today. Ms. Potter make sure you concentrate on your broom and to not get distracted."

I get on my broom, lifting my leg over to sit on it. As I sit with my feet pressed to the ground, I feel adrenaline course through my veins. A feeling of familiarity. Slowly I felt myself rise off the ground. I laughed as I soared higher and higher. I raced through the air; Sirius followed from behind. I raced him around the pitch, I weaved through the bleachers. Wind blew through my hair as I soared through the air. I had such a good view of the castle and all of the grounds. I could see the never-ending forest. The trees were in the beginning of changing colour. For the most part they were green but there were multicoloured leaves speckled through.

I hear a whistle and make my way back to where McGonagall stood. 

"Very good," She got out the bats, "Now that you've got a feel for flying, you and Mr. Black, are going to bat the bludger back and forth, so that you can get the hang of it."

It took me a while but eventually I got the hang of it. Sirius and I bat the bludger back and forth. While we're in the air he starts to tell me stories about our time as co-beaters. 

"So, the first year of try-outs," Sirius explains, "we were the only two first years trying out for beaters. The rest were older and they looked intimidating. However, you were so determined to play. I mean, looking back, I realize that you were from the future and knew that we would make it. But, still, I was a little intimidated by you. I knew that you would make it, you were stubborn and very feisty," He says with a big goofy smile. "Some things haven't changed."

"Hey!" I batted the bludger harder to him. My face having also had a big goofy smile.

Eventually Sirius catches it and we both fly back down. 

"Nicely done," McGonagall says.

We get to the ground and I see that a small crowd had gathered, watching us practice. 

"Now that's what I call a good team," A tall boy with caramel skin said, I'm guessing he was the captain. "That duo is gonna be hard to beat, do we have anyone else trying out for the beater positions?" 

One person raised their hand. He has shorter black hair and dark brown eyes. He was a little taller than me but still looked my age. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt showing off his defined biceps. He looked fit.

"I bet I can beat Princess over here any day," He said with a laugh, winking at me.

My eyes narrowed at him. Princess? Oh, no, no, no. I am no princess. He smirked at my glare, though his head tilted a little. 

"Are you sure?" Said the captain, "They've remained undefeated since their first year."

"From the looks of her, she'd be better as the keeper. You know, good at blocking," the oaf laughed, "Or maybe you'd be better on the Slytherin team with how much you suck."

My jaw dropped. He's going down. I'm going to end this man. Sirius made a move for him but I grabbed his wrist, holding him back. This is my fight, no one else can deal with it but me.

"Mr. O'Malley that is enough out of you, one more quip and you're going to be removed from try-outs," McGonagall said sternly, giving him a disapproving look.

"Well O'Malley, looks like you really did choose brawn over brain. You must've been dropped on your face to get an ugly mug like that," I say with biggest smile that I could muster as I stepped closer. He was a good few inches taller than me. He looked down at me with a big grin

"Ms. Potter!" McGonagall warned.

"It's ok, Professor, Gray knows how to take a joke," O'Malley said with a wink towards me.

I stepped back. Heading over to James to grab my broom.

"You ok?" James asked. I nodded turning back to our captain and McGonagall. 

"Ok, both of you on your brooms, O'Malley you'll be protecting Fisher and Potter you'll be protecting your brother. Both bludgers will be out, if Fisher gets hit, Potter wins. If James gets hit O'Malley wins," The captain said, "Alright, in the air."

I mount my broom and fly into the air; James is right behind me. I have one had on my broom, the other was gripping my bat. I had to keep my focus off of the douchebag across the field or else I'd beat him instead of the bludger.

A whistle blows from bellow indicating the start.

The first bludger hurled itself towards James, I fly in front of it and bat it in the direction of Fisher. I keep the bludgers away from James. They seem to get faster and faster. We've been at this competition for what feels like forever. I spy where Fisher is and O'Malley is far away, chasing a bludger. I take my chance and hit the bludger with all my might. I was so focused on that one bludger that I didn't notice the second one coming straight towards me. 

All I heard was a crack and the next thing I knew I was falling. A blur of colours surrounding me as I plummeted to the green grass. I let my libs fall loose in hopes to lessen the impact.

"Grayson!"

I embraced for impact only to feel arms catch me. I opened my eyes to see the one and only Sirius Black.

"I got you," He whispered bringing me back to the ground. "I'll always catch you when you fall."

"Told you I could beat the princess," O'Malley grinned holding up his broom.

"Actually, Mr. O'Malley, the aim of the game was to hit Mr. Potter. Ms. Potter ended up hitting her target in the end. She is in fact the winner." Professor McGonagall chimed in. "Ms. Potter blocked all of your attempts to hit her brother, whether by bat or the use of her body."

"Congratulations, Potter, Black, you two are officially our team beaters." 

_______________________

O'Malley is played by Calum Hood :)

Word Count: 1804

May 21, 2020


	4. Chapter 10: Four Boys in a Band

"You did really good, Potter," Our team captain went in to hug me but noticing the pain I was in opted for a fist bump.

"Mr. Black, would you please get Ms. Potter to the infirmary?" McGonagall asks.

"I can take her, Professor, " James chimed in.

"No, Mr. Potter, you still have to try out," She replied, "Besides, Mr. Black is perfectly capable of assisting your sister."

James walked back over to the group of people trying out. 

Remus, Peter, and Lily ran over to us. They were cheering, Lily held a sign that just had 0916 in big red numbers. Why was my locker combo on her poster?

"Oh my god, you did so good!" Lily said running over.

"Yea, that was incredible!" 

"That last hit was phenomenal."

"Sorry guys, I need to get her to the infirmary, Lily can you put our brooms in her locker? You know the code, right?" Sirius asked, his arm was wrapped around my waist. 

"Of course," She said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

With that she took the brooms and headed to the locker room.

"We're going to stay and cheer on James." Remus said, giving me a knowing look. For once, I was actually in on what the look was supposed to mean. Alone time with Sirius.

With every step I took my stomach ached in pain. The pain shot through my entire body. Every breath felt like I was being used as a pin cushion for a thousand needles on my left side.

"Here, let me carry you," Sirius said stopping. 

"No, I'm ok."

"No, you're not. Come on." 

"Fine," I say, giving in.

He smiles and steps in front of me. He kneels down on the ground, waiting for me to get in his back. I wrap my arms around his neck and he hold onto my legs to secure them around his torso. I had to admit, Sirius had to be pretty strong. I mean, I definitely wasn't light. I was very curvy. Honestly, I liked my body. I had bogger boobs, which was somewhat of a perk. My legs were toned with thicker thighs. My stomach wasn't flat but it was very cute when I held it in my hands. I definitely had my moments where I wasn't happy with my body. But, I'm 14, my body is still changing. 

"Sirius?"

"Yes, sunshine?"

"What's 0916?" A light blush tinted his cheeks.

"That's the day we went to see The Rolling Stones in concert after we won a bet."

"What made it so important to us? I mean, from Lily's sign I assume those are our jersey numbers."

"It was a great concert." He said, his lips were pressed into a firm line.

"Sirius, what happened?" He remained silent for a few minutes.

"Here we are. Madam Pomfrey, Grayson Potter was hit pretty hard with a bludger during try-outs, her left side is hurting."

How did he know? That was a little specific.

"Set her down on that cot," Madam Pomfrey directed pointing the closest cot.

Sirius followed her directions. He gently placed me on the bed and sat down on the chair behind him.

"No, no, behind the curtain Mr. Black, I need her to lift her shirt so I can see what's wrong." Sirius nodded his head and stepped out of the curtain. "Pull up your shirt please."

I lifted my shirt revealing my stomach. She examined my left side and I noticed how red and puffy it was. 

"It looks like you've got a fracture, nothing a little Skele-Gro can't fix," Madam Pomfrey smiled, "You can pull your shirt down."

I pulled down my shirt and Madam Pomfrey left to get the potion. Sirius made his way back to the chair on my left side.

"Ok, drink this," She passed me a small cup filled with a smoking liquid.

I eyed the potion, looking to Sirius and Madam Pomfrey for any indication of this being a joke.

"Come on, we do not have all day."

I grabbed the cup and quickly drank the liquid. It had a vile taste; I could only describe it as rancid. On the way down it burned causing me to cough and grip my neck. Sirius rubbed my back in a comforting motion, tracing circles all over my back.

"You may be a little sore for the next few hours but you are free to go," Madam Pomfrey said ushering us out. "Also, Ms. Potter, it's not very good when on your first day, you're visiting the infirmary multiple times. Let's not make it a frequent occurrence."

"Yes, ma'am"

Sirius and I walked in silence as he led us to the great hall. There were so many hallways that I doubt that I'd ever learn my way around the castle alone. There weren't many students in the hallways as we made our way back. 

"What's our team captains name?" I blurt out, trying to start a conversation. I did not like the silence between us. 

"Philip Jennings," Sirius replied. 

"What was up with that O'Malley guy? He seemed weird."

He shrugged. Looks like there was no hope in conversation from him. What was going on with him? Was he still hung up on my questions about September 16?

We entered the dining hall and the Gryffindor table roared. Their cheers echoed the hall as Sirius and I approached the table. 

"Here we have the complete Gryffindor team!" Our captains voice announces. Cheers erupted from our table. 

Sirius practically races over to join Marlene and the girl from earlier, Aries, I believe her name is. O'Malley stands, walking over to me. 

"Our two chasers, James Potter and Marlene McKinnon," at the mention of their name they both stood on the bench where they were sitting. I noticed that Sirius had helped Marlene up.

Not saying anything, O'Malley grabbed my hand, leading me over to where him and his friends were sitting. I noticed that Trevor was among his friends. I sat next to Trevor; O'Malley sat on my other side. I don't know why I followed O'Malley, I guess it was easier to follow him and not put up a fight. Also, it's not like I really knew where to sit anyways. 

Philip Jennings, our captain continued to announce the rest of the team. One after one they stood.

"Finally," Philip announces, a smile plastered on his face, "These final two, our perfect duo, have been playing since their first year. An unmatched pair. Our beaters, Grayson Potter and Sirius Black."

Both Trevor and O'Malley stood, helping me stand. I grabbed both of their hands as I carefully stood. 

All eyes were on me. I grinned sheepishly; I didn't know how to act. I look over to James, who gave me a bog thumbs up. He had a dumb grin on his face. I looked over at Sirius and notice that him and Marlene were deep in conversation. Marlene looked over towards me and I quickly blinked and looked away. 

The feast began shortly after this little announcement from our table. From the conversation around me, I found out that O'Malley's first name is Thomas and that the other boys were Michael and Robert. Michael had red hair and pale green eyes. He was sitting across from me and was wearing Ravenclaw robes. Robert sat next to him. Robert had blond hair and blue eyes; he was wearing the Gryffindor robes. They were all laughing and joking around. Apparently, they are in a band. 

I looked over at Sirius and saw that he was looking back at me. He quickly looked away. 

"What's up with you?" Trevor asked, making me look over at him. 

"What do you mean?" I say, playing oblivious. 

"You're being very quiet"

"Yea," Thomas piped up, "Normally, you're not normally this quiet. Is everything ok?"

Robert and Thomas were currently deep in conversation about some song Robert was writing while Michael and Trevor were watching me.

"Yea, I'm fine," I smile, digging into my food.

"How dare you try and fake smile at me," Trevor says dramatically, "I am your one true love!" He grabs my hand placing a quick kiss on it, I scrunch my nose and pull my hand away, "Oh, but alas, you love another," he sighs, as he faints dramatically.

The boys laugh at his display. My cheeks start to hurt from how widely that I'm smiling. It was good to know that I was surrounded by good friends.

"What?" Michael gasped, "I thought you loved me!"

Michael stared at me accusingly. Though, his eyes couldn't contain the glee he was feeling.

"I'm sorry Michael, Trevor" I plead, placing both hands above my heart, "I'm in love with both of you."

"No!" Michael cries.

"What?" Trevor gasps.

"I, I could never choose between you two," I fake cry.

"How could you?" Trevor shouted; his lip jutted out into a pout.

"Well," I smirk at Trevor, "I was thinking," I say looking between both boys. "Maybe you both could learn to share."

"I like where this is going." Thomas laughed, joining the conversation.

"Yea," Robert added, "Maybe you could add two more to this affair."

I laughed shaking my head. To be honest, I would not be opposed to this ordeal. They were all very attractive boys. 

"No! I refuse!" Trevor shouted, hugging me from behind. He rested his chin on my shoulder, "She's all mine."

My cheeks got really hot. I looked away from the boys as they laughed at how ridiculous Trevor was being. My eyes caught with a certain grey pair, glaring fiercely in our direction. Our eyes connect and I see his jaw tense. 

"Hey darling, what's the matter?" Michael asks, he looks over and sees where I was looking, "Baby who needs one man, when you have 4." 

"I bet we can have a lot of fun if we put our minds to it," Thomas says with a wink.

I roll my eyes and elbow Thomas.

The rest of supper was really fun. I got to know the boys better. I hope that I didn't let on that this was the first time that I was meeting them.

___________

Yes, Michael is Michael Clifford and Robert is Luke Hemmings.

I know, the names are very original.

Word Count: 1706

May 23, 2020


	5. Chapter 12: Princess Andromeda

The rest of the week practically flew by. My courses flew by, when I had free time, I was looking over my notes from the previous years. They were very organized and concise. Lily and Remus would help me when I needed it but, for the most part, I caught on to the material very easily. 

I practically flew through all of the Charms work. Don't get me wrong, I still had a lot of work to do but, so far, it was going very well. I found out in class that Michael was also there. We sat together and chatted about a new song that he was writing for the band. I liked Michael, his personality was so bubbly and sweet.

Astronomy was very hard; I was terrible at memorizing maps. However, the stories that went along with the stars were very interesting. I am so behind on what I needed to know. Luckily, I never was good at astronomy. My notes projected my hatred for it. I noticed that my notes also contained doodles from Sirius and Trevor, never on the same page. They tended to alternate with each lesson, as if they didn't hang out with me at the same time. Last class, Sirius sat next to me and explained the lesson, he was really good at astrology. Trevor, Thomas, Robert and Michael were all in this class as well.

Defence Against the Dark Arts was very interesting, learning about different creatures was very interesting. Although, Lily and Remus mentioned that none of the teachers were very qualified or even cared about the class. Some teachers wouldn't even bother to show up to class. Luckily, this year we had a teacher that was passionate about the topic, although, he tended to stay on the topic of werewolves more than any other. Both classes we've had full-length discussions on werewolves and it doesn't seem like we're going to stray from that topic for a while. We shared this class with the Slytherins.

Herbology was hard to study. Most of what I needed to learn consisted of practice while I was only able to learn the theory of it. Most of the classes were this way. However, I learned most of the spells pretty easily. Lily was partnered with me during this class, it was really cool. At the moment we were learning about gillyweed and its effects. 

Potions was another class that was very hard to catch up in. Since we weren't allowed to brew these potions unsupervised. I got the theory down pretty easily though. It was like cooking. I was paired with my brother in this class. Given our fathers success with potions it was basically in our genes to be good in this class. At the moment we were learning about antidotes to poisons.

I was making use of my nights and all of my breaks to study and get the information down. Most of my meals and free time was spent with Lily and the self-proclaimed marauders. However, Trevor, Robert, Michael and Thomas tended to steal me away on multiple occasion. 

I had also found a diary of sorts documenting my time at Hogwarts starting in first year. It didn't have any major spoilers to my future, nor did it document my day to day. However, it did give me an outline of the people in my life along with important secrets and information about them which will be useful. I was shocked at how detailed some of the entries were. Sirius' part was multiple pages long while Lily only got 2 pages. As I flipped through, I noticed that Trevor even had multiple pages to himself. Although, as I read through both of Sirius' and Trevor's pages, I realized there were a lot of moments alone. In those parts I wrote without emotion, only describing what had happened, no feelings involved.

I looked up from where I sat in the common room and looked around. There weren't many people around, most were spending time outside, in the beautiful weather. I told everyone that I needed to work on astronomy, but in reality, I just wanted to be alone. 

I stretched on the couch, closing the notebook, placing it on the pile of many others. I spotted above the fireplace a list for all of the Hogsmeade trips, starting with one this weekend. I knew that Hogsmeade was mostly for couple looking to go on dates but, I still thought it would be fun to go out and explore. After all, this was my first time experiencing it all. I wondered if I had ever been asked on a date to Hogsmeade before. I had read that I have been with Sirius and Trevor, but there were no details regarding the circumstances. 

I might've just been overexaggerating. There might simply be nothing between me and either boy. It could be possible that our relationships are completely platonic. But there was something about the way Sirius reacted to the date September 16 that made me feel differently. In my notes there wasn't anything about it other than the concert. There were multiple other days outlined too, however, there were no indication as to why they were important. 

However, for the Hogsmeade trip, I wasn't sure how it worked. Did you need to be asked to go? Or did you just simply go? The rules were simple but the etiquette was confusing. James said that our permission slips from our parents were already signed. He had also sent them an owl informing them of my status. They responded the next day by sending a care package. It contained a multitude of old pictures and some of my favourite sweets.

"Hey, Grayson," I look up to see Sirius waltz in, he was alone, "Get very far into astronomy?"

"I tried," I shrug, "I read page after page until my eyelids felt like they were lifting bricks. I just don't know how I'm going to catch up at this rate."

Sirius came over and sat next to me, wrapping an arm around me. It was strange that he was so comfortable with touch, in my journals I had mentioned that his family wasn't very affectionate. However, he is very affectionate with his friends. He openly hugs all of his friends and he makes sure to have some form of contact when he is talking to you. 

"Here," Sirius said grabbing the notebook from the pile, "Ah, the constellation Andromeda. Like most constellations, this one is based off of Greek mythology. This is the story of the princess of Ethiopia, the daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopeia. Cassiopeia was a very beautiful woman, but she made the mistake of claiming that she was more beautiful than Juno, queen of the gods. This made Juno very angry," Sirius didn't even need the textbook to explain, this was all from memory. "Neptune sent out a sea monster to ravage the coast as punishment. The king was terrified so, he consulted Ammon, the oracle of Jupiter. Ammon said that Neptune could only be appeased by sacrificing Cassiopeia's beautiful virgin daughter, Andromeda, to the monster. So, to save his wife, he chained up Andromeda on a rock on the coast."

Sirius was a great story teller. His voice changed with the tone of the situation. He also used his hands to explain. He looked as if he could be telling a fairy-tale to children with the amount of expression he was using. Alas, he was teaching me about constellations and the Greek myths behind them.

"Luckily," Sirius continued, a grin illuminating his expression. "Perseus, the great hero, saw her on his way back from defeating Medusa, the terrifying Gorgon with snakes for hair. He fell in love with Andromeda at first sight, he compared her beauty to that of a marble statue, unaware of her mortality until he saw the wind blowing her hair," Sirius twirled my hair around his fingers, enforcing his point. "And her tears streaming down her face," He brushed imaginary tears from my cheek. "Perseus, after learning her name and country, rushes to find her parents. He makes a deal with them that if he kills the monster, he can then have her hand in marriage," Sirius grabbed my left hand, playing with my fingers. "Perseus heroically slays the monster and frees Andromeda. They get married and live happily ever after. Andromeda's constellation," Sirius points in the textbook, "represents her freedom. It is depicted as a woman with her arms outstretched, chained at the wrists."

His focused stayed glued on our hands, his fingers traced and outlined the different lines on my palm. His brows furrowed in concentrations. It tickled a little. 

"Her parents were really mean," I blurt out, his head looked up, looking into my eyes. "How could a parent do that to their child?"

"To please the gods, the Greeks were willing to do a lot," Sirius stated, letting go of my hand.

"How could a parent want their child dead?"

Sirius stilled. His eyebrows furrowed and his lips pressed into a thin line. 

"Not everyone is lucky enough to have caring parents."

My eyebrows knit as I stared at him. Realization dawned on me and I wrapped my arms around him and buried my head into his neck.

"I am so sorry."

His arms wrapped around my waist and his face buried itself into my hair. I slowly rubbed small circles at the back of his neck as I heard him sigh heavily. His grip on me was very tight, as if he was afraid that I'd vanish.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know."

I felt my shoulder get warmer with Sirius panting. His breaths became uneven and his body started to shake. 

"It-it-it's oh-oh-oh-k-k," He stuttered, pulling me tight. 

I was basically straddling him. My arms were wrapped around his neck, while his were secured around my waist. A lot had happened in the past week. It was an emotional time. I had no recollection of my life here and that was a scary thing. No one knew why. It was hard for everyone. Like now, I didn't realize that Sirius' family life wasn't good. 

"You're ok," I whisper as he cried, "I gotcha. I'll always be here for you Sirius, no matter what."

_____________________

Not an exciting chapter. I'm sorry. 

Word Count: 1720


	6. Train to Hogsmeade

"Get up!"

"Gray, I'm serious!"

A soft object hits my head several times before I find the energy to get out of bed. 

"What time is it?" I ask, squinting my eyes at the bright sun. 

"8:30," Lily responded not looking up from her book, she was reading up on Herbology, probably looking over what we were currently learning. "Hurry up, I'm meeting Sev at 9:00 and you usually take your time to get ready."

I roll my eyes at her comment and proceed to rip through my drawers to find what to wear.

"Ahh," I scream in frustration. "What do I normally wear? I mean I know that all of these are my clothes but how do I wear them?"

"Just pick what feels right," Lily says encouragingly, her eyes were on me. Her textbook laid forgotten on the bed. Apparently, my choice in wardrobe was more exciting than learning about Gillyweed.

I look through a drawer, there were 5. The top contained my undergarments and socks. The next down contained a bunch of shirts, they were organised vertically. I could see all of the shirts just by opening the drawer. The next one down had pants and shorts. The middle drawer was skirts and dresses. The next was pyjamas. The last was uniforms. 

I grab the red high waisted pants with boot cut legs along with a plain cotton white shirt. I was going to wear converse and I was going to wear the leather jacket, assumedly Sirius', from my trunk at the foot of my bed. 

After my shower, I pull on my previously selected outfit and head over the mirror in the bathroom, where I kept my makeup. I decided to only wear a little bit of makeup. I coated my lashes with mascara and applied a bold red lip. The lipstick I tucked into the jacket pocket in case I needed to reapply later. 

I knew that I didn't need to impress, but I still wanted to make an effort since it was my first time going to Hogsmeade. I was really excited.

"Ooh," Lily smiled as she hugged me from behind, "Better be careful there foxy mama, you might catch me batting for the other team."

"Damn," I laugh, "I hadn't already stolen your heart."

Lily laughed, she grabbed my hand and led me out to the common room. Once we got down there, 2 gentlemen greeted us at the bottom of the stairs. James and Sirius. 

"Hey goodlookin'" Sirius smiled as he outstretched his hand to me.

I giggled and him my hand. James crinkled his nose as he looked over to his best friend. 

"Careful, that's my sister." James cautioned.

"And I love her very much," Sirius chuckles, as he twirls me into his arms. "You know I'd never hurt her."

I know, I've only known him for a few days and yet we've become very close. I mean, we were practically spending all of the day together. If he wasn't waking me to class, I was with Trevor. It was almost like they had their separate schedules of when they hung out with me. Like an unspoken agreement or something. 

"Won't you look at the happy couple?" Remus piped up, "And to think Padfoot, I thought what we had was special."

"Moony, darling," Sirius held me tightly in one arm but he opens his other, extending it towards Remus, "The more the merrier."

"Gross," I grimace and squirm out of his grasp. 

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," Sirius chuckles, hugging me to his chest. He places a soft kiss on my forehead. "Sorry Moony, she's the only one for me."

"Woah," James says, breaking us apart, "She's 14, too young to be making lifetime commitments," He says looking and Sirius, "And you," He looks at me. "Don't know him."

All of his previous attention towards Lily was gone as he led me away from Sirius. James grabbed my hand and dragged me away. Sirius reached out and grabbed my hand pulling me back towards him. James sighed, letting go of me.

"Don't push it," James says, glaring at Sirius.

"I'm not going to hurt her," Sirius' voice was serious. His jaw was set. "Don't you trust me?"

Sirius' face fell. He looked hurt at the thought. James looked conflicted, he straightened himself out. He looked over between Sirius and I. 

"You know I trust you," James stepped forward. "It's just difficult. She's my sister," He looked over to me, his eyes turned stern as he looked over to Sirius. "And you're my best friend. I don't want either of you to get hurt."

"I'm not gonna hurt her," Sirius let go of my hand and put his hand on James' shoulder. "Are we okay?"

James pulled him into a hug. They held each other tightly. I distanced myself heading over to Lily. 

"Wow," I whisper, pulling her aside. "Intense."

"Yea," She nodded, "they're really close. Sirius, he pushes his limits when it comes to you. Sirius will never hurt you or James. You both used to push James' buttons all day. Very entertaining to see James all flustered."

"Is this a usual occurrence?" I laugh, wrapping my arm around her waist. She leaned her head against my shoulder and we started to walk out of the room, leaving the boys behind. 

"You have no idea," Lily sighed.

"Hey!" James yelled from behind us. We had almost made it out the door. "Were you guys just gonna leave us here?"

The four boys rushed over to us following us out the door.

"You can't get rid of me that easily sunshine," Sirius said grabbing my hand. 

"If my darling sister chooses to take my Lilypad away from me," James said putting his arm around Sirius. "Then I shall take away Sirius."

"Do I not have an obnoxious nickname for him?" I ask, looking over to Lily.

"You tend to jump from dork to dumbass," Lily laughed, "Though, lately you tended to call him Dog-breath and Pup."

"Why dog related?" I asked. That's weird.

"Well-" James tried to interject. 

"Um- I-" Sirius stuttered.

"Sirius' patronus is a dog," Lily answered. "You started with the dog names shortly after you found out."

"Yea, exactly," Remus said chuckling.

He was walking right behind us. Peter beside him.

"Ready for Hogsmeade?" Sirius asks squeezing my hand. 

"Yea," I smiled causing my cheeks to hurt. "I can't wait, you have to take me everywhere.

"Of course," His eyes sparkled as he grinned. "Is that my jacket?"

"Must be."

"I always told you that it looked better on you," Sirius was wearing a simple pair of blue jeans and a grey t-shirt. The shirt was slightly loose, hiding his slim frame.

Sirius held onto my hand all the way onto the train. Lily had left earlier to meet up with Severus, much to James' dismay. 

"We can't all fit in one car," James stated as we waited in line. "We're five, we'll have to split up."

"I mean that hasn't stopped us before," Sirius chucked, "We'll all fit. If not, Gray can sit on my lap." Sirius winked at me and squeezed my hand.

"I am not sitting on your lap," I laughed, looking at him incredulously.

"No," James said rolling his eyes, "You are not having my sister sit on your lap. Not when I would happily do it instead." James smiled, blowing Sirius a kiss.

"If you are offering my dear James, then I am happy to oblige," He "caught" the kiss in his other hand.

As we came up to the front of the line, McGonagall stood waiting for the 5 of us. She looked over us with glee in her eyes. Although, she tried to keep it hidden. 

"Ms. Potter," Her eyes shone with delight but she held back. I never noticed, but McGonagall is very young, probably one of the youngest professors we have. "4 to a cabin, you know the rules. No more."

"Yes professor," Sirius said with a bright smile. "No more than 4."

"Got it," James pipped up from behind us.

After sending us off with a tight smile, I had a feeling that she knew that her rule would be broken. The five of us boarded the train in search of an empty cabin. It didn't take long for us to find one. Sirius leads me in and takes a seat next to the window, pulling me down next to him. James, Remus and Peter squeeze into the bench across from us.

"Are you guys too cramped?" I ask, "I'm sure that's not too comfortable."

"My lap is always open," Sirius chuckled. "If anyone wants to take me up on that offer."

I rolled my eyes at his lame attempt to have me on his lap. His arm had already made its way around my shoulder. 

The train started to move quickly after we settled in. 

"And off we go," Sirius whispered as we watched the trees fly by. "Get ready for the time of your life."

___________________________

Late update sorry. I lost track of the date. 

Word Count: 1507 

May 28, 2020


	7. Sway to a Silent Melody

"Here we are sunshine," Sirius says taking my hand as he helps me down from the train. "Now where would you like to go first? We could go to Honeydukes, a sweets shop, or Zonko's Joke Shop, or maybe Scrivenshaft's Quill shop, though you don't use quills, opting out for the muggles stationary. Or, we could always go to The Three Broomsticks, our favourite pub. Unless you'd rather go clothes shopping at Gladrag's Wizardwear. Or," He gives me a cheeky look. "We could go to Madame Puddifoot's Tea Shop, if you wanted to go on a date with me."

Sirius takes my hand and spins me around making me giggle. He pulled me into a tight embrace and started to sway to a silent melody. He started to hum a melody that I'd never heard before. We just stood there swaying to the song that he was humming. Sirius would guide me in how to move. Although I was a terrible dancer, Sirius was very good. He held on to my hand with one hand and the other rested on my waist. While my other arm was wrapped around his neck. Although we were very close, the dance felt fun and lighthearted.

A loud cough caused us to separate. I pulled back, unlooping my arm from his neck. Sirius let go of my waist but held on to my left hand. I look over at James who is avoiding eye contact as Remus has a big smile plastered on his face. Peter is nowhere to be seen.

"Where did Peter go?" I ask, ignoring my weird brother.

"He said he was meeting up with Katie, a Hufflepuff girl that he likes," Remus replied, looping his arm with James'. "So, gang, where to?"

"Definitely Honeydukes," I say grinning, Sirius squeezed my hand, a smirk plastered on my face.

"That's my girl," Sirius chuckled.

"I see your sweet tooth hasn't left," James shook his head, a grin illuminating his face.

"Honeydukes it is," Remus said before him and James started to skip down the road. They whistled as they strangely swung their arms.

I could barely contain my laughter as Sirius and I pursued them in the same manner. We skipped to a glass window with all sorts of sweets presented in it. I could. There was a big box of jelly beans with plenty of other sweets surrounding it.

"Come on," Sirius said, leading me inside.

Everywhere I looked there was some kind of sweet. I was overwhelmed with all of the possibilities. My jaw dropped when I saw jumping chocolate frogs. The store was filled with excited students. The line was already pretty long.

"What do I usually get?" I ask Sirius, James and Remus had already ran in. I could see them surrounding a display of chocolate bars.

"Well," Sirius said grabbing a basket. "Normally, you'd buy to stock up. Since you have a massive sweet tooth, you tend to get a lot." He picked up two boxes of jelly beans. Though instead of the normal box form, they had a spike at the top like a house. "These are Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. Not particularly your favourite but you still buy them none the less," Sirius grabbed a bag and proceeded to add giant scoops of multicoloured candies into it, and then dropped it into the basket. "You are practically addicted to this gum. You have a big stock of it. Almost always chewing it when you're stressed out."

He proceeded to pick out some Sugar Quills, Fizzing Whizzbees, Pumpkin Fizz, Jelly Slugs, Peppermint Toads, and Pepper Imps. James and Remus met us at the cash with their collection of chocolates, fudge and cakes.

"Got everything?" James asked, practically drooling.

"Yes," Sirius replied, proudly showcasing the basket to James and Remus.

"Do we have the money for all of this? This is a lot of stuff," I ask. We had practically filled 2 baskets. It was a lot of sweets.

"Yea," James chuckled. "Our parents are well-off, to say the least. Our dad is a very famous potion maker. Trust me we have the money. Plus, with this being your first jump they wanted to treat you to everything. You jumped from being 11, from that age your timeline has been out of order, you've been learning and experiencing things out of order."

"I don't feel 11," I state.

It's true, they keep saying that my jumps make me a different age than what I am but I do not feel different. I mean, in the dream world, I was 14 and I feel no different here. My body is more mature than one of an 11-year-old.

"When you first told me about your situation," James said as we moved ahead in line. "You said that you needed to speak to Dumbledore immediately. You said that he would know what to do. Do you remember anything from before you first jumped?"

"I barely remember our childhood let alone minutes before my first jump," I reply. "What happened?"

"We had just gotten on Hogwarts Express. We searched for a cabin; however, we couldn't find one with two seats. I ended up sitting with Sirius, Lily and Snivellous. There were loud crashes that came from the hallway, they weren't startling enough to make anyone concerned," James looked away, handing his coin pouch to Sirius. He took my hand and led me outside to talk. "I should've just waited and found a compartment that had enough seats for the both of us"

"James it's ok," I squeezed his arm sympathetically.

"No, it's not," He gulped. "I should've been with you," He looked away with a clenched jaw. "You, uh, you were attacked. Not enough anything serious, but you had a couple bruises on your back from being thrown back against the cabin. Then you jumped. The attacker was gone when you came to." James wiped his eyes. He turned back to look at me. Unshed tears filled his eyes. "You got up and got into a compartment. Peter and Remus were there, along with another girl. You said that she was sorted into Hufflepuff. You stayed with them until you reached Hogwarts," He chuckled as he caused a memory. "You quickly made friends with the three of them. You were the one to introduce them to Sirius and I. You made the marauders."

"The marauders?" I ask. In the dream world, in a book series that was popular there, Harry Potter. His father was James Potter. James and his friends were a part of the marauders.

"A marauder, one who roams from place to place making attacks and raids in search of plunder," Remus piped up from beside James.

"We have raided and received our treasure!" Sirius exclaimed holding up the bag of sweets.

Sirius chucked the coin bag at James who catches it swiftly, shoving it into his pocket.

"Don't look so glum sunshine," Sirius said wrapping his arm around me. "You're sweeter than anything I could've got in that store."

Sirius winked at me. Not a normal wink, a big cheesy wink. A smirk played on my lips. I rolled my eyes, unwrapping his arm from my shoulder.

"Aww," Sirius pouted, his lip jutted out and his eyes widened. He was giving me a big, sad puppy dog eyes.

"Nope," I retorted. "Do we need to start a douchebag jar?"

"Hah," James laughed. "If you did that, we could take a trip by the end of the year."

"Oi," Sirius smacked James' arm. "That's quite rude Prongs."

"Where to next?" Remus said turning to me. Sirius and James continued to shove and joke around. "Do you want to go and grab something to eat?" I nodded my head. "Ok. Guys?" James and Sirius turned their attention to Remus. "You guys head to Zonko's, Grayson and I will head to The Three Broomsticks and grab a table."

Both boys nodded at the plan. Sirius handed me the bag of treats to hold on to while they went off to collect their future pranks.

Remus looped his arm around mine and guided me to the pub. It wasn't too far from Honeydukes due to the building being so close together. We made it there in a short amount of time and we sat in a booth in the back.

"This is our usual booth," Remus stated handing me a menu. "You can look over the menu."

There was so much on the menu that I didn't use to seeing. I knew that I came from a magical background, but some of these items, I didn't even understand some of the ingredients. My eyes raced across the page. It was like half of the items were written in a different language.

"Your usual order is butterbeer and chips," Remus piped up. "You slather your fries with mustard and ketchup. It grossed me out until I tried one, they were bloody delicious. That day I found out that I should never doubt you." He joked, nudging my knee with his own.

Remus sat across from me. His back facing the rest of the restaurant, putting all of his attention on me.

"I remember," Remus continued, "the first day I met you. On the train. You came into our compartment; your eyes were wild. You sat yourself down next to me and introduced yourself," He chuckled to himself. "If I'm being honest, I thought you were mad."

"Hiya," A female voice said from beside us. "Can I take your order?"

"Yea," Remus replied, smiling shyly at the waiter. "I'll take a butterbeer."

"And for the lady?" She asked me.

"A butterbeer and chips," I reply.

"Oh," Remus said, "we also have a couple more joining us later."

"Ok," she replied smiling. "I'll be back shortly with your order."

"Thank you," Remus and I responded.

"What was I like?" I ask.

"What do you mean?" Remus asked tilted his head, his brows furrowed.

"Like," I looked around, searching for the right words. "How would you describe me? Like was I adventurous? Did I pull pranks with you guys?"

"Well," Remus smiled, looking off into the distance. "You were fearless, you always stood up for others. You tutored students who were behind. In every year you were at the top of your class, along with the rest of us of course," He started to trace patterns on the table. "As for the pranks," His lips tightened to a straight line. "You never approved of them. You and Lily said that they were immature and childish. Though, we continue to pull them much to your discontent."

"Oh," I sigh. "So, I'm a buzzkill."

"No," Remus said sternly, "You are not. You are just very compassionate. You hate seeing people get hurt. Not that our pranks are aimed to hurt people," Remus shifted in his seat. "Although, it does happen occasionally."

"Why do you guys pull pranks if people get hurt?"

"We don't try to hurt them," Remus defends, putting his hands up. "Well, we don't tend to hurt in most of the cases. They're more unpleasant than painful really. Last year, we made a boy who had been picking on the first year's puke slugs. You weren't too mad at that one. He deserved it. You still didn't approve though."

"Here you are," The waitress says, setting down the butterbeer and fries. "Wave me down if you want anything else."

"Thank you," We both reply.

"Take a sip," Remus urges me, pushing my drink closer to me.

I grab the mug, smelling it as I bring it closer to my face. Butterscotch. Hmm. Remus inched closer. The anticipation growing as he watched me react to the new drink.

The bell chimed above the door, indicating a new arrival. Remus and I both swivel to see who arrived.

"Prongs, Padfoot," Remus exclaimed waving to the boys.

They happily bounded over to our table. James slid into the booth next to me as Sirius sat next to Remus.

"She's about to try butterbeer for the first time," Remus announced excitedly.

"Hate to burst your bubble there Moony but," James stole a fry off my plate. "Goober's had butterbeer before."

"Yea," Remus replied, "but, she doesn't remember having it before." He turned to me. "You don't remember having it, do you?"

"No," I reply, shaking my head.

"See," Remus said, a smug grin present on his face.

They all watched as I pulled the drink closer. I lift the drink to my lip and take a sip. It's sweet taste floods my taste buds. It was good.

"It's good," I reply, setting the drink back down on the table.

I reached over grabbing the mustard and ketchup bottles.

"So," I look over at Remus. "How do I normally do this?"

"No," James protested.

"Why did you have to tell her about the fries?" Sirius whined, his head looking up at the ceiling.

"It's good," Remus shrugged, "The boys' palettes don't appreciate how wonderful this meal is. We typically get two portions so that they can have their own. May I?" Remus asked, inclining his head towards the condiments in front of him.

"Of course," I reply.

Remus takes the condiment bottles and drizzles them both over the chips. They looked very picturesque. I picked up a chip, making sure to grab one with both condiments so that I get the full experience. I take a bite. The sweetness from the ketchup and the saltiness of the mustard mux in my mouth.

"This is amazing," I exclaim, smiling at Remus, or Moony as the boys called him.

"See, I told you," Remus smiled.

The other two boys grimaced. Their noses crinkled with disgust.

"How can you beat that?" James asked, "You've been eating it for years and I've never understood why. That's how our father eats his chips and you've always been one to copy him."

I smiled at James as he recounted more memories of when we were with our father. He recounted how when we were little, I would dress in our fathers' clothes, running around the house in his dress shirts.

____________________

This chapter is longer since I missed last Saturday. I'm going to try and keep up the 3 times a week posting but, I'm going through a move right now so I don't always have access or the time to write. 

Word Count: 2354

June 2, 2020


	8. Sirius Killed the  Cat

The next month and a half flew by. I was caught up in most of the revision, I had gotten halfway through the second year with the help of Lily, Remus and Sirius. James and Peter tried to help, but James got frustrated too easily and Peter was very confused when he was trying to explain things.

Lily and Remus would explain things while Sirius would crack jokes and lighten the mood. When I couldn’t understand, Sirius would put them into terms that made sense to me. Peter and James would come in every once and a while, they would offer snacks and beverages. James would also remind Sirius and I that we had quidditch practice when we forgot.

We were currently in our common room gathered around a table. Sirius sat to my left, Lily to my right, Remus sat across from me.

“Focus,” Lily says waving a hand in front of my face.

We were currently studying divinations. An elective that I thrived in. Though when I looked at my crystal ball all I saw was my reflection staring back at me.

“Nothing,” I groan, leaning my head back.

“Look again,” Remus said encouragingly, “Look past the ball.”

I closed my eyes and let out a heavy sigh. I peered at the ball again, my eyes furrowed as I focused all my attention on the crystal. I pressed my hands flat on the table as I stared into the crystal ball.

Then I saw an image. It was a woman. She was heavily pregnant. I couldn’t make out who she was, her face was blurred. She was with a man. They each had a child in their arms. Both kids looked no older than 2 or 3. They were blurry but from their size, they seemed small.

The frame switched; the kids were now gone. The couple seemed like they were fighting, though there was no sound. There were many more people in the room. The man from the couple places a haste kiss on the pregnant woman’s forehead and left.

There was another jump in time and the woman was going into labour. Her face scrunched in agony as she grabbed the hands of the males on either side of her.

It jumped in time again and she held two babies in her arms. Two of the boys grabbed the babies out of her hand and she smiled sadly at them.

I was curious to see what would happen. I didn’t know who this woman was. Was this happening in real-time? Or was this a future event?

There was a green flash causing the scene to change once more. It was morning, the sun rose and shone through the big window in the living room. There was a woman at the door, accompanied by a man with a grey beard and long grey hair. They almost resembled Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall. They looked saddened and with a child, McGonagall held one in her arms. As they talked to the woman, who was once pregnant, the woman falls.

“Gray”

She screams and starts to sob uncontrollably. The children were promptly taken out of the room as one of the men runs over to the fallen woman, wrapping his arms around her, holding her as she sobs. She then falls still.

“Grayson?”

I jump back. Looking at the trio that surrounded me. My eyes were wide.

“What happened?” Lily asked.

“You scared me for a moment there,” Sirius chuckled, although a worry coated his features.

“I, uh, I don’t know,” I sigh shaking my head.

There was so much to take in. The fight, the birth, the collapse. This poor woman was living a rollercoaster. I can only imagine what caused her to break down. I hope she’s ok.

“What did you see?” Remus says, leaning across the table.

“A woman, she was pregnant,” I scrunch my eyebrows as I try to remember every detail. “She and her partner had two kids. Then the kids were gone and the pair were fighting, 7 other people were in the room with them. They looked like they were in a living room. The man left.

She went into labour without him. Had twins. The next morning, she got really bad news from Dumbledore and McGonagall and she collapsed.”

“Who was that about?” Lily asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

“I don’t know,” I shrugged, “the faces were all blurry and I couldn’t make out anyone other than

Dumbledore and McGonagall.”

“Weird,” Remus mumbled, shaking his head.

“Maybe,” Sirius smirked, “that was a prophecy.”

“More like a glimpse of the future,” Lily responded, “a prophecy wouldn’t be so clear. She would’ve blurted out phrases instead of seeing time fragments.”

“Who’s future?” I asked.

“Maybe yours,” Sirius chuckled, “I mean I wouldn’t mind it if you were the mother of my kids.” He added with a wink.

I bit the inside of my cheek. If that was me, I wouldn’t want to find out why I got so upset. I knew it wasn’t minor, she looked like she was broken. I don’t know what it would take for me to break down like that.

“Hey, hey,” Sirius pipped up, grabbing my hand, “You’re going to be ok.”

“Not if that was my future,” I mumbled, staring at our intertwined hands.

“On that note,” Remus said abruptly, “I’d say it’s time to take a break.”

Lily nodded as they started to pack up their things.

“Are you excited?” Lily asked me, excitement lacing her voice.

“For what?” I ask, shoving my textbooks into my bag.

“The Halloween feast,” Lily exclaimed, “Tons of food, fancy dresses, boys asking girls to be their dates. It’s like a ball.”

“Sounds fun,” I mutter, “I’d love to stuff my face to boring music in front of all my peers.”

Sirius snorted at my remark while Remus wore a sad smile.

“This weekend we are going to go try on dresses at Gladrag’s Wizardwear,” Lily smiled, her eyes bright with excitement. She turned towards the two boys. “How about you boys? Are you planning on asking anyone?”

“No,” Remus replied meekly.

“What?” Lily exclaimed, her eyebrows knitting together. “Why not?”

“The marauders have decided to take a stand and have decided not to participate in an event that highlights the desirability in this school,” Sirius replied, his head held high and his arms folded in front of him.

“Aww,” I giggled, “couldn’t get a date?”

“I mean Sirius and James,” Lily smirked, “I completely understand. You can’t get a girl if you do not have manners,” Sirius rolled his eyes. “But Remus and Peter could find a nice date.”

“For a matter of fact,” Sirius stated, his eyes narrowing at Lily’s remark. “The only girl I’d ever want to bring is sitting right next to me. However,” He said not glancing my way. “Due to previous circumstances, the marauders are unable to go.”

“Aren’t I a marauder meaning I also can’t go?” I ask, tilting my head.

“No!” Remus exclaimed quickly.

“Oh,” I sigh, leaning back in my chair.

I felt hurt. I thought Remus and I were close. Yet, he wants to exclude me from their ditch day. He’s always been so nice to me and yet, the moment I want to be included he rejects me without a second of consideration.

“What he means is,” Sirius said shooting a look Remus’ way. “This is boy time.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Lily’s head snap up towards Sirius. I bet she was giving him a look similar to the one I was giving him.

“What, uh, what I-I mean is,” Sirius stuttered, his gaze shifting between Lily and I. “We just wanted to spend some time together is all.”

“Then why can’t I come along?” I ask.

“No, you wouldn’t want to go,” Remus said calmly, his eyes were glued to Sirius.

“How would you know? I don’t even know what you’re doing,” I reply. I didn’t know who to look at.

“Yea,” Lily piped up, “What would make her unwilling to join?”

Lily paused. The four of us fell silent.

“Are you guys going to pull a prank?” I asked, breaking the silence.

“Fine, yes,” Sirius shouted, “Are you happy? You got your bloody answer, now leave it alone.”

“Sirius,” Remus hissed, his eyes glared at him accusingly.

I sat in my seat dumbfounded. Not once had Sirius ever raised his voice at me.

“I was just curious,” I reply looking at Sirius, my eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Not everything is about you, you know,” Sirius said, his voice was stone cold. “We do not need to include in everything that we bloody do.”

“Sirius!” Remus hissed as he glared at his friend.

“Ok,” I reply, “Fine. I’ll leave you be then, if you wish to be rid of me so bloody badly.”

I stood up, grabbing my bag from off the floor.

“Grayson no, wait,” Remus pleaded as we left, “Sirius, do something!”

“Like what?” Sirius asked, “You know it’s for the best.”

Lily and I left the common room. It was a Friday afternoon, our next Hogsmeade trip was tomorrow. We decided that it would be better to go to the dining hall and eat, continuing her tutoring after we’ve had a bit of a break to eat.

“What an arse,” She muttered, as we made our way down the hall. “You were just curious is all.”

“Yea,” I sighed.

“I don’t think curiosity killed the cat anymore,” Lily exclaimed, “I think it was Sirius after it asked too many questions.”

I started to laugh at her horrendous attempt at a joke.

He had never treated me like that in his life. I don’t know what I did wrong. Was I being too inquisitive? Did I step over some invisible boundary?

“Someone shat in his cheerios this morning,” She mumbled.

“Lily!” I exclaimed; my laughter could no longer be contained.

“What are you girls laughing about?” 

_________________

Yes, I have changed the feast to a ball. We love change. :)

Also, why do you guys think the marauders are skipping the ball? Who do you guys want to take Grayson to the ball? Let me know, I love hearing from you guys. :)

Word Count: 1663

June 4, 2020


	9. Tabletop Announcements

Marlene loops her arms in mine and Lily’s as she runs in between up. She was sporting a dress; it fell a little above her knee. It was a bright red. Like the colour of leaves in autumn. She wore a matching headband, holding back her golden curls.

We had gotten closer during the past month. During practice, we’d joke around. We were the only two girls on the quidditch team, we bonded over that. From what I can gather, this is her first year playing on the team.

“Sirius is being a dick,” Lily said in a sing-song tone.

“Aww,” Marlene sighed, “What happened?”

Marlene looked over at me. A small frown on her lips. She was wearing a bubble-gum pink lip-gloss.

“He lashed out,” I mumbled, keeping my focus ahead as we walked.

“Hey,” Marlene said, stopping our group.

Marlene pulled me, turning me so that I was facing her. Lily stood next to her.

“You should talk about how you feel,” Marlene said, “you’ll feel better once you do.”

“It’s nothing,” I say exasperated, “I’m not feeling anything. I stepped over a line. I shouldn’t have prodded so much.”

“No,” Lily said shaking her head. Her face was scrunched. “There is no way this is your fault. Before you jumped the two of you were inseparable, neither him nor Remus would’ve treated you like that. They would’ve never made you feel excluded,” Lily grabbed my hand rubbing circles on the back of it. “Sirius would’ve never raised his voice at you.”

“Remus too?” Marlene gasped. “There’s no way. You’re the golden girl in that group, practically a princess. They all grace the ground you walk on.”

“Yea,” Lily added, “they’re all extremely overprotective of you. Never want you to get into danger.”

“Not to say you can’t take care of yourself,” Marlene says, smiling at me. Her eyes shone with happiness. She looked like a ray of sunshine. “What were you guys talking about anyway?”

“The feast,” Lily replies as we make our way to the dining hall.

“What?” Marlene asked, “Did Sirius get jealous that someone else had asked Gray?”

“No,” I reply, “No one’s asked me.”

“What?” Marlene replies incredulously.

“He got mad when I kept asking why he wasn’t going to be there,” I replied shaking my head.

I was still confused. If we were so close why would they want to block me out of their lives? Did I do something? Or maybe it’s just something I don’t remember. Maybe I did something before I jumped. Or maybe it was something I did in these past months.

“Maybe,” Marlene added, “it’s simply their time of the month.”

“Ha!” Lily laughed, “I mean it’s possible. Periods are typically synced when you spend enough time together.”

We all laughed as we continued to the dining hall.

“So,” Marlene said, sobering up from our laughing fit. “Were you serious when you said that no one has asked you?”

“Yea,” I reply, tilting my head to the side. “No one’s asked me.”

“Impossible,” Marlene exclaimed. “I don’t believe it.’

“Better believe it,” Lily replied as we pushed past the big doors.

“How is it that hard to believe?” I ask, running a hand through my hair.

“Are you kidding?” Marlen asked, her eyes as wide as saucers.

“No,” Lily added, “She doesn’t notice when guys gawk at her when she walks down the hall,” She cups her face in her hands as she pretends to fawn over me.

“They do not!” I exclaim, scrunching my nose. I turned my focus on the wooden table.

“I mean they probably won’t ask due to your 8 bodyguards,” Marlene chuckled.

“Bodyguards?” I asked, my eyebrows scrunched in confusion. I squinted my eyes at Marlene as she rolled her eyes.

“Do you not notice that you have 8 overprotective boys around you?” Marlene smirked.

I rolled my eyes. There was no way that the boys were keeping other boys away from me. That’s insane. I mean James, sure. He’s my brother and he’s overprotective. James definitely could’ve coerced his friends to help him keep boys away but from what I could tell I don’t think James could’ve compelled Trevor and his friends to do the same.

“Speaking of,” Lily said as James and Peter sat down across from us.

“Hello, Lilykins,” James said, smiling wide.

“Oh good,” Marlene said, “good to know some of the Marauders are in a good mood today.”

Her smile was tight and her eyes were narrowed. James’, along with Peter’s, eyebrows were scrunched in confusion.

“What are you talking about?” James asked, confusion taking over his features.

“Remus and Sirius were quite rude when we inquired about the feast,” Lily replied.

“Well,” I mumbled, “More Sirius than Remus.”

“What did he do?” James asked, his eyes scanned the area. Possibly looking for the two boys.

“He yelled at her,” Lily replied. “He was saying a bunch of things, like he was pushing her away.”

James opened his mouth as if he was going to say something before closing it again. His jaw tensed.

“Wait, could it be about-” Before Peter could finish his sentence James cut him off.

“Ho probably had his reasons,” James said, “I wouldn’t look too far into it. He was probably just having an off day.”

“But he was fine before,” I rebut to no avail.

“Peter,” James said, ignoring the girls completely. “Don’t we have that thing to do today?”

“What are you-” James cut Peter off with a look. “Oh, right. Yes, we do,” Peter looked over at us as if he just remembered we were there. “We should go do that.”

They both bid us goodbye before racing out of the dining hall.

“Weird,” Marlene said.

“Yea,” Lily replied, “how peculiar. They’re acting just as mysterious as Remus and Sirius.”

“I mean,” I interjected, “they were nicer about it.”

“What is going on with them?” Marlene mumbled, looking at the door.

The following weekend we went to Hogsmeade together. It was a girl’s day. If the boys were going to exclude us then we could do the same.

We had gone to Gladrag’s and bought ourselves some dresses for the ball. I wrote to my parents about it and they sent me some money. I was still getting used to the currency here. Though, I was having more memories come back to me.

The week went by rather slowly. If I thought the marauders were avoiding me before they were most definitely avoiding me now. Every class that I had with them; they would go as far as changing seats with someone else to avoid me. I didn’t understand why.

It was currently Wednesday and I did not have a date to the feast. Not that it was a big deal. Marlene said that she’d blow off her date to go with me if necessary. I laughed when she told me this. She was such an extreme person.

“Have a date to the feast yet?” I hear from beside me.

I look over to Trevor who is looking down at a star map, his gaze fixed on one spot. We were currently partnered in Astronomy. The day before the feast.

“Nope,” I replied glumly, “You?”

“What?” He jumped, knocking a book off of our table.

“I, uh, I don’t have a date,” I could hear some people chuckle. I crinkled my nose and averted my gaze to the map.

“So, Siri-” He coughed, “I mean, so nobody asked you.”

I could feel eyes on me though I dared not to meet them. There was no way that I could live down this embarrassment. Not that not having a date was embarrassing but being called out for not having one was. Especially when loads of people expect you to have one.

“No,” I respond, “not one singular person has asked me.”

“Good,” He responds.

I look up to Trevor, he looks at me. A huge grin is plastered on his face. He suddenly gets up, jumping on the table. His shoes getting dirt on our map.

“Hello everybody,” Trevor exclaims, “Classmates, professors.”

“Finally!” Thomas said rolling his eyes.

I looked around to see Thomas and Robert grinning. They were almost grinning as much as Trevor was for whatever reason. I looked around the class, Marlene shot me a wink, smiling broadly. Lily smiled at me, with a knowing look. James and Sirius were watching Trevor very closely. Remus looked very tired, he had his head resting on his hand as he stared at the scene in a bored manner and Peter looked as confused as I felt.

“As some of you may know,” Trevor said opening his arms. “I do not have a date to the feast tomorrow,” I could hear some girls cheer. Thomas groaned. “Luckily for me,” He turned to look at me. “The girl I want to go with has not been asked for whatever reason. Probably because people thought she was asked the minute this was announced. That’s what I thought at least,” Trevor held out his hand and helped me onto the table. “Now, I am glad for whatever miracle that made me have this opportunity,” He took a deep breath and took my hands in his. His hands held mine easily as they were much larger than my own. “Grayson Potter,” Trevor looked me in the eyes. His hazel eyes kept me in a trance. “Will you be my date to the feast?”

There was a silence. Not one person made a noise. I could feel my heartbeat drumming in my ears. My blood raced through my veins. My cheeks started to feel warm. I couldn’t believe that he would draw this much attention on us. 

“Yes,” I reply, grinning.

“Yes!” Trevor hugged me. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders. He pulled back and was grinning, showing off his magnificent dimples.

There were a couple of cheers from the audience. I specifically could hear Marlene and Lily cheering loudly.

I looked through the crowd and noticed a quartet of students missing. I guess the marauder didn’t want to see my response.


	10. Date Under the Stars

My brother and his friends were nowhere to be seen during the next morning. They were ditching classes. Lily said that none of the boys showed up for Muggle Studies this morning. Nor did they show up for History of Magic. They didn’t show up for any of the breakfast either. They were just gone. I made sure to take notes for them. Even though I wasn’t on good terms with them that doesn’t mean that I don’t want them to pass. I made sure to duplicate all of my notes. I then passed them on to Philip Jennings to deliver to their dorm.

“Hey darling,” Trevor said with a big cheesy grin. “Why are you looking so glum?”

I looked up at him from where I was writing notes at the table. I had finished my classes for the day and wanted to study a little bit before I started to get ready for the feast. 

Trevor was wearing a red bandana. Some of his brown curls slipped underneath the bandana framing his face. While the rest of his hair looked almost like a crown on the top of his head. He sat himself next to me leaning over my work. 

“You don’t need to work so hard,” He said putting his arm around me, his hand squeezing my shoulder. “This year has been non-stop work for you. You need to relax,” His eyes twinkled, his dimples prominent. He looked so pure in his smiling state. “Come on,” Trevor said as he started to put my work away. 

“What are you doing?” I ask, as he started putting my notebook away.

“You need to destress,” Trevor grabbed my bag and got up from the table. “And I’m here to help you,” He held out his hand to help me up.

I grabbed his hand and Trevor helped me to my feet. 

“Come on darling,” Trevor twirled me around, holding onto my right hand. 

He led me out of the hall. I felt a lot of eyes on me as we walked out of the dining hall hand in hand. 

“What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing?” A voice says from behind us.

We turned to see Sirius standing, basket in hand. Peter was right behind him. Sirius looked angry. SIRIUS looked angry. Bloody hell. What the bloody hell was he angry for?

“Me?” I asked him incredulously. “ME? Are you bloody joking?”

“Yes you,” Sirius said, his glare shifting between me and Trevor. “Does it look like I’m talking to a bloody wall?”

“Mate,” Trevor butted in, “what is your problem?”

“Don’t “mate” me,” Sirius shouted as he walked over to us. “I am not your bloody friend.”  
Sirius was right in front of Trevor. I could practically see the steam coming from his ears. His grey eyes looked like a storm cloud. An angry glint flashed through his eyes like lightning. His glare remained on Trevor. Sirius was not happy. 

“What is wrong with you?” I cry, pushing him back. 

Sirius’ gaze shifted over to me. He seemed shocked by my reaction. His expression softened but not by much. His jaw clenched. I could tell he was holding himself back. No matter how he was acting or how he was treating me, I could never stay mad at him for long.

“What’s going on Sirius?” My demeanour had softened though I kept my distance even though I wanted to hold him in my arms and tell him that everything would be alright. But I wasn’t ready to forgive yet.

“Nothing,” All of the anger that he once had seemed to melt away. He closed his eyes. His jaw was clenched. “I’m sorry,” Sirius’ eyes gazed into mine. He seemed sincere. “I’m sorry to you too Trevor, I was out of line,” His jaw was still clenched but he seemed very sincere. “Have fun at the feast tonight.”

Sirius stepped closer to me and I dared not to move. He was right in front of me. His eyes trailed over my face. Sirius hesitated. His hand twitched. He put down the basket, gently placing it on the ground and pulled me in to hug. His arms wrapped around my shoulders, pulling me to his chest. I felt him sigh when I wrapped my arms around his waist.

“I’m sorry,” Sirius whispered into my ear. “I’m so sorry.”

I was too stunned to say anything. I was in shock. I wasn’t expecting to talk to Sirius, much less get an apology.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” His lips were so close to my neck that I could feel his breath, it was very distracting. “I’m sorry for being a dick,” Sirius pulled back placing a chaste kiss on my cheek. “Have fun at the feast tonight.”

Sirius pulled away and picked up the basket. His eyes lingered on me before looking over to Trevor.

“Treat her right,” Sirius says giving Trevor a stern look. Though he wouldn’t meet his eyes for long. “You’re a lucky man.”

Sirius bit his lip as he looked back at Peter. Peter was standing a little bit away, not getting involved. Sirius looked over at me and then turned away. He walked his back and left. Peter trailing behind him.

“Well,” Trevor said, grabbing my hand. “That was interesting.”

“Indeed,” I sighed.

“Are you ok?” He asked, squeezing my hand. His other hand scratched the back of his neck.

I nodded my head squeezing his hand. Something had changed. As I watched Trevor smile, I noticed that it wasn’t as bright as it once was. The smile didn’t reach his eyes.

“Alright,” Trevor said smiling, “Let’s go to your surprise.”

Trevor led me through the castle, he was practically skipping with excitement. He led me up the moving staircase and down several hallways. Trevor stops in front of a doorway. A grin spread across his face. His dimples were prominent on his face.

“I wanted to give you a day to let loose and de-stress,” Trevor smiled, opening the door for me. He stood back guiding me into the room. “Here’s a little break before you leave to get ready for tonight.”

My breath caught in my throat as I walked into the room. It was a classroom but everything was cleared out. Twinkling lights were bewitched on the ceiling, almost like stars. Almost, it wasn’t accurate. Orion’s belt was more like a necktie. It wasn’t accurate. A mess of blankets and pillows were arranged in a circle on the floor. There was also a big bucket of popcorn and some cans of soda. A projector was stood behind the setup. 

“This is incredible!” I gasped breathlessly as I walk further into the room.

“Yea,” Trevor replied, “I wanted this to be special.”

“What are we going to watch?” I followed him over to the blanket and we made ourselves comfortable. 

He sat down first and I sat down next to him. I leaned back into the pillows. It was so comfortable. Trevor grabbed a blanket, tossing it to me. It was so fluffy and soft. 

I turn to see his eyes watching me as I get myself situated. A soft smiled tugging at his lips. 

“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” Trevor smirked. He jumped up to go and work the projector. “One of the best.”

I grabbed the bucket of popcorn and threw some in the air, catching it in my mouth with ease. The next piece I wasn’t so lucky. It bounced off of my nose and fell into my lap. Trevor laughed at my failure. His giggles echoed through the air. 

“Shut up,” I laugh, throwing a handful of popcorn at him.

“Oh, do you want to start a popcorn war missy?”

“Bring it on. I’m the only one with ammo.”

“Oh really,” His grin could’ve lit up the room.

Trevor switched on the projector and ran over to where I was lying. He dove down, sprawling himself on top of me. I was pinned down under him, his head next to mine and his body diagonal on mine. 

I was stunned. I’d never been so close to him. I mean, sure, having his arm around me was one thing but to have him on top of me. It was different. Sirius had never done this with me. Sirius had never really gotten this close. I mean getting on top of me was different.

“What are you gonna do now punk?” Trevor held himself up with his arms. He moved himself placing his legs on either side of me. He had me pinned, were on either side of my head. A smile played at his lips.

I brought my hands up to his sides. The moment my fingers me his waist he flinched, panic flooding his eyes. Trevor was ticklish. Oh, how the tables have turned. 

My fingers raced across his sides causing him to squirm at my touch. The movie drowned out by his laughter. All of his weight landed on top of me. Not that he weighed much. Though he was taller than me, he was very lean. My thigh probably had more meat on it than his entire body.

“Stop,” He screamed, “I surrender!”

Trevor pushed himself off of me. He laid on his back and stared at the ceiling. His breathing was heavy. His hands were resting on his chest. He took bug, deep breaths.

“You monster,” He breathes.

My eyes were focused on the movie. We spent half of the movie with our eyes glued to the wall where the movie was being played. It’s weird, I felt like I’d seen a different version before. Willy Wonka was played by a different man with an angular face and dark hair. It was vague memory. It was fuzzy. I don’t remember where I saw it though. I wonder if there was an older version containing that angular, purple-haired man. Though, this version was just as terrifying with the orange-skinned, green-haired little Oompa Loompa’s.

Suddenly, the door bursts open.


	11. Getting Ready with the  Girls

Lily and Marlene storm into the room. Lily was in her uniform while Marlene was wearing a dressing gown. 

“What are you doing?” Marlene exclaimed. “Do you think we have the time to watch movies with our date?” 

I was stunned. I felt as if I was in the wrong but I’m not sure why. I wasn’t doing anything wrong. We were watching a movie.

“We need to go,” Marlene ran over and pulled me up. “We have a lot of getting ready to do.”

“And only an hour and a half to do so,” Lily exclaimed checking her watch.

“See you later,” Trevor laughed, his giggles echoing the room.

The girls pulled me out of the room and led me back to our common room. 

Chaos.

I walked into our dorm and it was pure chaos. Girls were running around getting ready. Makeup and dresses were everywhere. Hair was pinned up and rolled.

“Woah,” I entered our room and everything was all laid out.

Our dresses were placed on our bed, the shoes on the floor. Makeup was organized on the countertop along with the hair products. Our other two dormmates were elsewhere getting ready. It was only the three of us.

“So,” Marlene says smirking, “you and Trevor huh?

Lily wiggled her eyebrows, a mischievous grin spread across her lips.

“Ooh la la,” Lily gasped, as she sat me down in front of the bathroom mirror.

Lily picked up a brush and started to brush my hair. Marlene was sat beside us brushing her hair. 

“Let’s make Sirius jealous,” Marlene smirked as she brushed through her golden locks. 

“He’s gonna wish he was never mean to you,” Lily giggled, “Did he ever apologize?”

“Oh my god,” I exclaimed, “he did. Sirius stopped us in the hallway and he apologized.”

I then filled them in on the whole ordeal. Marlene’s jaw dropped. Lily even dropped the brush on the ground.

“He what?” Lily shouted.

“Hah,” Marlene laughed, “he marked his territory.”

“I’m not some prize to be won,” I state, rolling my eyes.

“Babe,” Marlene says, “you are most definitely a prize,” she smiled at me pointing her hairbrush at me. “However, you get to choose who wins. You get your pick of the litter.”

“Ooh,” Lily laughed, “Sirius or Trevor, who will it be?” 

“Stooooop,” I sigh, “I’m 14, I don’t need to decide right now.”

“Ok, ok,” Marlene conceded.

We started to get ready. I threw my hair up into a braided crown. A few pieces of hair framed my face. I had a grey smoky eye that made my hazel eyes look dark and mysterious. I also had a sultry dark red lipstick. The dark red of my lips suited the dark green of my silk dress. The bodice of the dress was a flowery lace. The back of the dress was zippered. Marlene helped to zip it up. The dresses A-line style accented my bust, not that it was hard to do, and hid my stomach. The lace straps hung off my shoulders, showing off my collar. The dress was gorgeous. It was timeless.

Lily had long straight hair. Her green eyes were made even more prominent by the natural pink eyeshadow. She was wearing a nude lip gloss. Lily’s makeup accented her natural beauty. Her dress was a lilac purple. The top was covered in small silver embellishments. It shone in the light like crystals. A large cluster of embellishments formed at the waist. She had small spaghetti straps supported on her shoulders. She looked stunning.

Marlene had her hair pulled back into a fishtail braid. Her eyes were darkly lined making her bright blue eyes pop. Her full lips were coated in a bright red lipstick. Her lipstick matched her dress. Marlene’s dress had a nude mesh top with red lace flowers covering the top. It was a high top and the red flowers were strategically placed to cover all of the important areas. The bottom was multiple layers of chiffon skirt and a silk runner underneath. The dress was long enough to cover her long legs. She looked gorgeous. 

“Damn,” Marlene said checking me out. “You’re looking hot.”

Marlene walked over between Lily and me and wrapped her arms around our waists. 

“Let’s go,” Lily said, “if we get down early, we might catch your brother and his gang of dorks. We can show Sirius what he’s missing.” 

Lily shot me a wink. I touched up my makeup and we headed over to the grand staircase that leads down to the common room. I couldn’t see into the common room. With the size of our dresses, there was only enough room for us to come down the staircase one at a time. Marlene went out first, she struts her way out of the room. She threw us a wink over her shoulder before making her way down the stairs. Hollers and whistles were heard from our dorm room.

“See you down there,” Lily says with a wink. 

Lily made her way down the hall just as Marlene had done before her. 

Butterflies were filling my stomach. From the sounds of it, the room was full. What if I embarrassed myself? It’d be humiliating. Especially if Sirius was there. I wonder what Sirius would think. Would he be jealous?

I took a deep breath and lifted my skirt, bunching the silk in my hands. Making my way out of the door, my heart pounded in my ears. The warm light at the end of the hall was my motivation, along with the cheers from the crowd. The closer I got to the light the louder the noise got. I reached the top of the staircase and stared down at the crowd. I looked down and saw a crowd full of fancy-dressed students and 4 who were wearing school uniforms. 

Sirius’ jaw dropped. His gaze had landed on me the moment I walked through. His eyes scanned my figure before returning to my face. I watched as his eyes trailed back up to my face. Sirius locked eyes with me. A pained look crossed over his face. He bit his lip but held his gaze. I sent him a small smile. He closed his eyes, he looked like he was in pain. A tight smile played at his lips. When he re-opened his eyes, he was devoid of all emotion. I couldn’t bear to see him like that.

I forced myself to look over at Remus. He had a small smile on his face, he was resting in a chair. He looked as if he had no energy. A chocolate bar was resting in his lap.

Peter also had a chocolate bar, most of it was smeared on his face.

James had a big grin on his face. He raced to the bottom of the staircase. His arm outstretched to greet me. 

Lily and Marlene were beside him. They looked at him cautiously but smiled up at me, choosing instead to be civil.

Walking down the stairs wasn’t as hard as I originally thought. I guess with a thicker heel it wasn’t as hard. 

I grabbed my brother’s outstretched hand. James smiled widely at me. 

“Look at you,” James said smiling. He twirled me around, dancing with me. “Gorgeous.”

“Look,” I smirked, standing in front of him. “I’m taller than you.”

James rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue.

“Just you wait, you stop growing sooner than I do,” James teased.

“Is Remus ok?” I ask, looking back over to him. Now that I’m down here, he looks even worse. “He looks terrible.”

“Yea,” James replied. “He, uh, he didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. He was too busy studying.”

“Hope that doesn’t intervene on your oh, so special boy’s day,” Marlene interjected, malice present in her voice. A sickly-sweet smile played on her lips.

James’ jaw tensed. 

“Yea,” Lily added, “hope not.”

James turned and strode back to his gang without a word. That was very unlike him. He always had something to say. If not a little quip, at least some kind of compliment towards Lily.

“Come on,” Lily said, leading the three of us towards the doorway.

We had to go and meet our dates. Lily was accompanying Severus and Marlene was going to be going with Robert, though neither of them would be attending as dates more like friends. We were meeting them in front of the dining hall. 

We rounded the corner and saw that Trevor and Robert were enthralled in conversation. Severus was also participating in the conversation but mostly nodded along. Marlene cleared her throat causing the boys to turn towards us.

Severus' eyes lit up as he gazed at Lily, his eyes swiftly flicked over her dress. A small smile flickered across his face as Lily reached over and hugged her. He was wearing a pale grey suit, his chemise was lilac, the same as lilies dress. His tie was the same shade of grey as his suit. His hair was slicked back. 

Robert’s smile was huge as he gazed at Marlene. They were both entranced in overdramatic romantic greetings, though no real feelings were behind them. They laughed at whatever they were doing, Robert took her into his arms. It was an amicable gesture. I never realized how close they were. Although, Marlene was a social butterfly. She was practically friends with everyone at the school.

Trevor’s face instantly lights up. His eyes trace my figure as I checked him out. He was wearing a black suit with an emerald green tie. His tie matched my dress. Lily coordinated that for us. Though we only had a day, they still made it work. His hair looked windswept. It was kept in a good-looking mess on top of her head.

I smiled as his eyes met mine. 

“Like what you see?” I tease, a huge grin spreading across my face.

“100 percent yes,” Trevor grinned, taking both of my hands into his own. “Completely breathtaking.”

He wrapped my arm in his. Tucking it so I clutched his arm. He led me through the doors into the hall. 

I gasped as I looked around. The ceiling was bewitched to look like leaves were falling on us. The red and orange leaves contrasted with the stars of the night sky that were regularly bewitched there. All around the room, there were pumpkins and squashes. There were fake cobwebs and bats all around. In the corner of the room a band played, their soft melody played throughout the room. The long tables that filled the room were replaced with round ones, big enough for 8. 

“Let’s eat,” Trevor smiled, guiding me over to a table occupied by Michael and Thomas.

__________  
Not very exciting, but next chapter should be :)

Word Count: 1794

June 11, 2020


	12. Fallen Prey

Michael was wearing a black tux with a blue tie. His hair matched his tie. A dark oceanic blue. Thomas was also wearing a black tux. His tie, however, was red and his hair wasn’t dyed to match.

For starters, we had squash soup. It was delicious. It was nice and creamy. A mug of pumpkin juice was next to it. For the main course we had turkey. It was all phenomenal. For deserts, we had a choice of pumpkin pie and treacle tart. No one had time to talk with how quickly each meal came. As well as how delicious it was. There was no way I could waste one minute without the delicious meals in my mouth.

Once the plates were cleared the tables were swiftly cleaned and put away. The band started to play a louder tune.

“Come on,” Trevor says, pulling me to my feet. “Let’s dance.”

Trevor guided me over to the dance floor, my hand in his. He spun me out keeping his right hand in mine. Before pulling me back in. Both of his hands were wrapped around mine. There was a fire in his eyes as we danced to the song. I wasn’t sure what the song was but it was a guy singing about his lover Peggy-Sue and how much his heart yearns for her. I didn’t recognize the song, although it was quite catchy.

Trevor and I moved to the music; my arms were up as I swayed to the beat of the music. My hips swayed side to side as my head bopped to the music. I could feel myself getting lost in the music. I smiled as I looked across to Trevor. His dimples were prominent, like craters in the moon. They looked deep enough that I could fill them up with ketchup and dip my chips in them. Gross analogy but, whatever works.

“Sorry, time for some girl time,” Marlene interjects, grabbing onto my arms. Lily was in a fit of giggles beside her. “Come on.”  
Lily grabbed Marlene’s arm and we left on a train. I looked back at Trevor, who chuckled at the sight of me being led away. 

“Come on,” Marlene giggled as the three of us were led out into the night air. 

The moon was bright and full. It seemed too bright that the stars looked dull in comparison. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky letting the moon shine over Hogwarts.

“It’s so cold,” I shiver, rubbing my arms. 

Goosebumps rose against my skin as the wind from the night air blew against my side. This Halloween wasn’t necessarily too cold but the way the wind nipped at my skin made it hard for me to contain my shivers. We walked outside, making our way around the castle. Marlene was leading us to our old hideout where we would drink undetected at these events. 

“For some fun,” Marlene replies as we come around the corner. “Just us girls,” She then hiked up her skirt.

Marlene lifter her skirt very slowly. Her red skirt lifted higher and higher on her leg. Revealing more of her toned legs. They were surprisingly tanned for where we lived. She had hiked her skirt up to her thigh before I noticed the flask. It was quite large for its location. I wondered how she could walk normally with that thing weighing her down. She slid it from its place, uncapping it quickly before taking a swig.

“What is that?” I ask, my nose scrunched in confusion.

“Firewhisky,” Marlene grinned, passing the flask to Lily.

Lily took a swig. As soon as the liquid went down her throat she was coughing. She quickly passed it to me. It was bright pink, sparkled covered it. The only place not covered in glitter was on the bottom right corner, there was a cursive M in matte hot pink. I was guessing for Marlene.

I grabbed the bottle, giving it a smell. It burned my nostrils when I inhaled. I tipped the bottle taking a swig. A fire erupted in my throat as the liquid passed down my throat. I coughed and my breathing became heavy. My throat burned. 

“Don’t worry,” Lily said, “I have red currant rum, if you’d prefer.”

I nodded; Lily hiked up her skirt passing me a different flask. They looked like they matched. Although, Lily’s was sparkly blue instead, with a cursive L. I wondered if I had one as well.

“Matching flasks?” I asked to confirm my assumption.

“Yea,” Lily answered, “We got them last summer.”

“Yea,” Marlene answered, “My older brother got them for us before we left for school.”

I laughed, taking a swig of the rum. 

“We usually take three flasks,” Lily giggles, “but we figure your tolerance would below. You know since the jump and all. They each would have different drinks. You normally had chocolate liqueur in it.”

“Your flask is sparkly purple and has a G,” Marlene smiled, taking another swig.

“Look at the stars,” I exclaim, looking up at the sky.

They were so bright. I could make out a bunch of constellations that I wouldn’t be able to see in the city. It was a gorgeous night. I sighed taking another swig of the rum. 

“Hey,” Marlene laughed, “save some for the rest of us.”

“I guess her drinking habits have always been this way,” Lily joked.

“Not my fault,” I laugh, rolling my eyes. “This stuff is delicious!”

I passed the flask to Marlene. She was grinning from ear to ear.

“Ok,” Lily giggled, “I think that’s enough for now, hotshot.”

They put their flasks back on their thighs before they started to head back in. Although they were walking in, I couldn’t get my eyes off of the night sky. My eyes traced constellations, remembering stories that Sirius had told me. 

“Are you coming?” Lily asked, her eyes cocked in confusion.

“No,” I shook my head. “I want to look at the stars more.”

“Do you want us to stay out with you?” Marlene asked, her eyes were bright. The alcohol’s effect quickly kicking in.

“No, I’m alright,” I reply, “I’ll be back inside in a few minutes.”

“Ok,” Lily nodded, “Just be careful, we’re not allowed to be outside at this time. When you sneak in make sure no one catches you.”

“Stay safe,” Marlene added.

They left me standing there. My eyes glued to the stars. The night sky looked gorgeous. As I stood there my mind felt numb. The alcohol was taking control. I could feel my mind get fuzzy. Not as if I was losing control but as if I was relaxed. I no longer felt the chill of the wind.

A howl in the wind hit me like a slap in the face.

What was that? 

Am I an idiot? A howl. That’s what that was.

Another howl rang through the air. It sounded closer. 

I looked over to the forest. The branches rustled in the night. Their foliage hid all of the scary monsters of the night. 

“Nothing’s going to get you,” I sigh to myself, “I am not in a horror movie. I’m going to be ok.”

My gaze turned onto the forest. The night sky was out of my mind instantly. 

Another howl ripped through the air. It was followed by growls. I felt my heart race pick-up. They were even closer than before. The bushes rustled. I could feel eyes on me. My heart pounded. 

“I’m just imagining it. No one’s watching me,” A huge crash came from the woods. “Nope, just animals. Nothing to be afraid of.”

The forest was far enough that I wasn’t close to it, but close enough that I could see it. The bushes near the clearing moved. A deer ran out of the bush. Was I going crazy or was there a rat on its head? If deer could have emotion, I would’ve sworn that this one was confused. The way that its head was cocked to the side as if it was confused. 

“Oh Grayson, you might be losing it,” I smiled. I was afraid of a deer. A harmless, funny little deer. Well, not so little, he was pretty big. A stag? Is that right? A male dear. Well, not that I can tell at least.

The deer made a noise, an aggressive grunt. The look in his eye made me think that he was communicating with me. If that was the case, I had had way too much to drink. The stag came closer, the rat rested between the antlers. It looked rather comfortable. As the stag approached it kept making the same noise over and over again, it sounded urgent.

Maybe, I shouldn’t have drank so much. Suddenly, I think I am a Disney princess. Talking to forest animals, them trying to protect me from the dangers of the world.

Another crash came from the woods. The deer looked frantically behind it. It’s cries sounding more urgent. However, I couldn’t bring myself to move. I felt as if I was on some kind of drug. Like this was some sort of hallucination my mind had conjured up. Like I’m in a cartoon. I walked closer to the deer. Not knowing if I was hallucinating or not. The deer grunted; its eyes stared at me. Almost like a glare. Its head nodded towards the way that we came, like it was telling me to go inside. 

Suddenly, a huge dog came lunging out of the woods. The big black dog ran out of the woods stopping next to the stag. The stag grunted at the dog, like they were communicating, and then nodded over to me. The black dog looked my way with a cocked head. 

Before the dog could react, a growl came from the woods. I looked past the trio of animals to see a wolf. The wolf looked over at the other animals, its tongue lazily hanging out of its mouth. However, the moment it inhaled; its eyes locked on me. A low growl left its throat. I was entranced in its sight. I felt glued to the ground. As if the roots had grown up my legs entangling them with the earthy soil. I was being hunted, stalked by its animalistic gaze.

I had fallen prey to a werewolf.

_____________

Dun, dun, duuhhhh. What do you think will happen? Comment below. 

Sorry that it's a little late. <3

Word Count: 1727

June 14, 2020


	13. Left for the Wolves

The black dog jumps in front of me. Snarling and snapping at the wolf. Its back was to me as it was facing the wolf. The deer was grunting at the both of them, the rat remaining on the top of its head. 

I took a step back. Then another. And another. I kept moving backwards until my back hit the castle wall. My eyes were wide as I watched the scene in front of me. A big dog and a werewolf were squaring off as a deer with a rat on its head stood by. I couldn’t tell if I was drunk or if I had completely sobered up. 

The dog growls again, his head moves, almost like a nod towards the deer. The deer runs off behind the castle wall. I wonder if animals can talk to each other. I mean that instance right there is proof enough. 

“Grayson!” A voice yelled from beside me. 

I looked over and saw James, he was coming from the exact place that the deer had run off to. He looked from the dog to the werewolf to me before rushing over to me and grabbing my arm. 

“What are you doing? You are going to get hurt,” He says, “We have to get inside. You’re going to get killed if you stay out here.”

I was stunned. What is he even doing here?

“What am I doing here? What are you doing here? I thought you were with Sirius, Remus and Peter,” James didn’t bother to respond as he pushed me behind him.

The werewolf lunged, jumping over the dog. It landed right in front of us. James pushed me behind him. The dog attacked the wolf slamming it onto the castle wall. The werewolf was stunned for a moment. At that moment the dog looked over at me. Its eyes looked so full of emotion. It confused me. The dog's gaze was broken by the wolf crashing into the dog. They started to fight in front of us. The dog leading the wolf away from us. The dog barked and growled leading the wolf away. However, the wolf seemed to realize that he was being misled and turned its attention back on the two of us. The wolf was now much closer. Only a couple feet between us and the wolf. I heard a small squeak from beside us and saw a rat down in the grass. The growling dog brought my attention back to my dangerous situation. James had me pushed behind him, his arm was out, his wand at ready. 

“Go back inside now,” James demanded. There was no fear in his voice.

“I’m not leaving you,” I reply, grabbing onto his arm. 

“I’ll be fine,” He groaned, his arm pushing me back. “Leave. Now.”

I decided to ignore what my gut was telling me and run. Leaving James behind and focused on my safety. My feet moved without me having to think about it. They led me inside the castle. Rushing to a place my mind hadn’t decided yet. 

I just kept running and running. I ran through the halls getting further and further into the castle. I took random staircases, running further and further into the dungeons.

I left my brother for dead. He was going to be ripped to shreds and it was all my fault. My parents were going to kill me. They were going to kill me on site. I haven’t even met them yet and they were going to hate me. Would I go to Azkaban? I mean do they even have sentences for minors? 

A chill ran through my spine. The dungeons were much colder than the main floor. They were a lot darker too. There weren’t many people down here. I saw a couple of students scurry about. The dance was exclusive to years 4 and up, so the younger years weren’t invited. I’m not sure why, maybe it was because they weren’t as behaved. I’m not too sure.

“Are you lost?” A voice said from behind me. The voice was male, pre-pubescent.   
I spun to see a young, dark-haired man. His features were angular, for a kid at least. He had dark hair and pale grey eyes. He looked a lot like Sirius. His build was similar as well. He was wearing the Slytherin uniform. His eyes trailed down, taking in my appearance. 

“Was your prince charming not as princely as you thought him to be?” He sneered. 

“Do I know you?” I asked. I was confused as to why he was so rude.

He was stunned by my response. His eyes practically shot open. He hesitantly took a step closer to me. His arms stayed by his side. He made no move to come any closer. 

“My name is Regulus,” He said, watching me, “Regulus Black. Don’t worry,” He says, noticing my confusion.” We have never officially met,” Regulus had a tight smile on his face,” I guess my brother never told you about me.”

“I probably just don’t remember,” I say, trying to comfort him. Sirius must’ve talked about his brother. “I’ve been having some, uh, memory problems recently.”

“You don’t have to lie for him Grayson,” Regulus smiled, although it was a sad smile. His eyes didn’t light up, his smile was very tight as well. “I don’t blame him. Keeping our problems hidden is our family’s special ability.”

Regulus shook his head, his jaw clenching. It was as if he had said something wrong. He quickly recomposed himself. He straightened his back. He looked as if he was holding back. 

“Is everything ok?” I asked him, I took a step closer to him. 

Regulus looked around, as if he was checking to see who was around. To see who was watching, who could hear our conversation.  
“Regulus,” He turned his attention back on me. “Are you ok?”

Regulus closed his eyes. It reminded me of Sirius. When things got tough and he needed to think, Sirius often closed his eyes to focus. I guess they both developed that quirk. When his eyes opened, he looked over my face. Analyzing it. 

“You are a good person,” Regulus nodded, his eyes peered into mine. “You put the needs of others above your own. Sirius is lucky to have such a good friend,” I had to look away from his piercing gaze. “I should be asking you if you are ok. Are you ok?”

“I, uh, I am ok-ok,” I stuttered. I can’t believe I forgot about my brother. My brother was left forgotten with the werewolf.

“What’s wrong?” Regulus asked, he looked concerned.

“My brother,” Tears started to cloud my vision. “I left him to die.”

I am a terrible person. I left James behind with the animals. A werewolf. I left him for dead. I didn’t even turn to look. My brother is dead and it is all my fault. No! James is a strong wizard. He is a good wizard and he will survive. Yea. I’m sure that he will survive a werewolf attack. I am sure that he will not be mauled so badly that his body becomes unidentifiable. 

“What are you talking about?” Regulus asked, his arm stretched forward, grabbing my shoulder. He squeezed my arm. 

Regulus led me down the hallway. As we walked the air got colder. The only light source was from the sconces on the walls. The fire provided a slight heat, although the stone practically snuffed out all of the heat. Regulus came to a bench and sat down. I followed suit. 

“What are you talking about? What happened to your brother?” Regulus grabbed my right hand holding it in a comforting manner. It was like he truly cared. 

I stayed silent. I don’t know why but I just couldn’t bring myself to confess to all that had happened. 

“My brother has told me a lot about you,” Regulus said, he looked away from me. “He would tell me about you,” He chuckled, remembering a happy memory. “He would, uh, he would tell me about your adventures. Your picnics together. He shared so many happy memories of you. Grayson, my brother, Sirius, cares about you so much.”

Regulus looked behind me. His eyes wide and his jaw clenched.

“Ms. Potter and Mr. Black,” A voice said from beside us. We flinched apart, Regulus dropping my hand. It was Horace Slughorn, our potions professor. “What are both of you doing down here so late? Not the sibling’s I’d expect to see lurking in the dark so late at night.”

“I’m sorry professor,” Regulus says, his head bowed in shame. 

“It’s my fault professor,” I confess, I wasn’t going to let Regulus get in trouble. “I got lost in the dungeons, Regulus was only trying to help me out. I’m sorry professor.”

“No,” Regulus said shaking his head. “It was entirely my fault professor.”

Professor Slughorn shook his head at the both of us. 

“You two,” Professor Slughorn chuckled. “The same as your siblings, always trying to cover up for the other.”

“Does that mean we can go?” I ask him. I was feeling hopeful. He was a passionate teacher. Though he had a bias for the students that succeeded in his class. I was one of those students. Even with the jump, I was still top of the class.

“Unfortunately, Ms. Potter, you and Mr. Black will be spending tomorrow in detention with me,” Professor Slughorn stated. “You know the rules, boys and girls are not permitted to sneak off together. Especially past curfew.”

I bowed my head in embarrassment. Professor Slughorn was making it out to be much worse than it was. We weren’t doing anything. We were talking. Nothing more. 

“Professor? What’s going on?”

_________

Word Count: 1627

June 16, 2020


	14. Cuddle Buddy

Waiting. I lied there waiting. Waiting for sleep to take over. My mind raced with thoughts. Thoughts of my brother. When I asked around, no one had seen him. He hadn’t come back in. Neither had the rest of his friends. All I could see in my mind was his body, torn to shreds. Or, even worse, the werewolf biting him, leaving him with the awful curse of being slave of the moon. And I sealed his fate. If only I had left with Marlene and Lily.

I tried to fall asleep, but I continue to stare up at the wooden ceiling above my head, created by this box bed. I had my curtains drawn shut on all sides, I wanted to prevent as much light as possible. I wasn’t sure what time it was. I had gotten back at 1 a.m. after my run-in with Professor Slughorn. I couldn’t tell if it had been hours or mere minutes since then. Though, when I got back Lily was fast asleep, however, Marlene was wide awake.

We stayed up for another hour dishing gossip. Apparently, a lot had happened in my absence. Severus tried to make a move on Lily, Lily denied his attempts. This caused Severus to go off and sulk. 

When I had asked her about her and Robert, she shied away. I mean, we had only been friends for a couple of months, I thought we were very close, apparently, we still had some boundaries. Not that it was a bad thing. I totally get it. She had the right to her own secrets. 

I switched positions, rolling into a ball. I held my legs loosely against my body. I felt my eyes start to water. 

My brother, my older brother was dead. Killed by a werewolf. Oh noooo.

I rolled over and pulled back the drapes. I sat on the edge of the bed. My elbows were resting on my knees. I ran my hand over my face. 

I am an only child. I remember fragments of our life together and I’ve lost him. Maybe the dog and the deer protected him for me and he is safe. 

With a heavy sigh, I grabbed a textbook along with the notebook to go along with it and wandered to the common room. I also brought pens and parchment paper. I would not be getting sleep tonight. Might as well get some homework done. Not that I really had much. Lily and I made it a priority to be ahead in our work. It took about a month for me to be on top of things. With all of the catching up that I had, it was a miracle that I was able to comprehend what’s going on in class. 

I pulled on a nightgown over my pyjama’s. Tonight, they consisted of loose blue shorts, they came up to above mid-thigh and a matching blue tank top that was also loose. It dipped down; my cleavage was highly exposed. Not that it was hard to do. My chest was rather large, made exercising hard if I didn’t have the right sports bra. My nightgown came down to my calf, covering my pyjama’s completely. I didn’t feel like being so exposed in front of other students. 

Slipping on my slippers, I quietly made my way through the hall and down the stairs. No one was in the common room. The clock on the wall showed that it was 4 a.m., I had about 2 hours before students started to flood in. I sat myself down at one of the desks and started to write. For potions, I had to write about scarab beetles. This assignment was to write about where they can be found, what are its uses and any other useful information. Professor Slughorn wanted it to be written using 3 feet of parchment. That honestly didn’t seem that bad. Professor Slughorn was a teacher who sought out students with a passion for potions. He gave bonus points for obscure facts about the subject. Facts that not many people know. 

I started to write my essay. I opened my notebook and started an outline. My textbook was open and I was writing down everything I could find about the scarab beetle.

My ears perked up to the sound of the door being opened.

Who could be up this early? And they’re coming in from the portrait? Who could be sneaking in at this time?

Looking over to the door, I spy four figures hobbling in. 

It was the Marauders.

Sirius and James were on either side of Remus. Their arms were wrapped around him, he looked fatigued. As if he no longer had any energy. Peter was trailing behind them.

“James!” I cry bolting over to my brother.

He’s alive, the wolf didn’t kill him! The deer and dog protected him when I failed. While I ran, he stayed to fight. 

His eyes widened as he ran over. James and Peter exchanged positions. Sirius’ eyes widened. James nodded towards the dorm rooms, as he exchanged a look with Sirius.

It was so peculiar how they could speak without saying anything. Almost as if they can speak telepathically. 

“Grayson,” James wrapped his arms around me. “Are you ok? What are you doing up?”

I closed my eyes, pulling him closer.

“I thought you died,” I cried, “I thought the werewolf killed you.”

“Killed me?” James laughed. 

“Yes! Killed you,” I say looking at him incredulously.

“A werewolf isn’t going to kill me,” James says shaking my head. “I’m invincible.”

James flexed his arms as if to prove how strong he is. At 14 though, it was rather unimpressive. I bet Sirius had more muscle. I mean he was a little taller than James. 

“I’m sorry I left you,” I sigh shakily. “I shouldn’t have left you.”

“No,” James replied, “you needed to leave. It wasn’t safe.”

“How is it safe for you but not safe for me?” 

“Because,” James looked as if he was thinking. Not that much of a shocking thing in itself, but why would he need to think hard about this answer? “Because you will get hurt.”

“And you won’t?” I looked at him with disbelief. “Oh, sure, because you are such a strong manly man and I am just a frail little girl who needs her big brother to protect her.”

“Grayson-”

“Oh no, I can’t possibly take any harsh truths because I am such a weak little girl. How could a girl like me possibly be able to fight as well as a man? Right?”

“No, it’s just-”

“Just what? Because of my jumps, I’m not as strong as you?”

“Grayson, no-”

“Oh, no, right, I’m not as smart as you. Right. I could never have as much intelligence as my older brother. You’re so much smarter than me-”

“No!” James shouted, cutting me off. “If you would just listen,” His voice lowered. “I’m an animangus.”

“What’s an animangus?”

“An animangus is when a wizard can transform into an animal at will. I can turn into a stag,” He sighed. “Werewolves attack humans, they are less willing to attack animals.”

So, James was the stag I saw last night? That somehow makes sense. Does that mean the rat and the dog were also animagi?

“Was I an animangus?” I ask, wondering if my past, or rather future self, had this ability. 

“Yes,” He replied. “You were the first one of us to become an animangus.”

“Oh. So, you’re all animangi?” 

James froze. He looked as if he was contemplating his response.

“Remus is not an animangus.”

I looked at him confused. If Remus wasn’t an animangus, then why was he so tired. If he was out with them last night that means he had to be with them. I couldn’t imagine Remus as a rat though, he could be the dog. But there was something about the dog. It wasn’t as calculating as Remus. The dog acted on instinct instead of thinking. It jumped into action not considering the consequences. It wanted to save James and I. Remus didn’t seem as much of a risk-taker as the dog did. But what other animals could he be? I don’t remember there being another animal there. Well, other than the werewolf. Could Remus be a werewolf?

“This really isn’t my secret to tell,” James looked around. “I don’t want you to think about him differently. It’s not his fault.”

I gasped. Remus was the werewolf. All of the terrible things I’ve been saying about the werewolf were about Remus. I felt terrible.

“Oh, Remus! I am so sorry for saying such terrible things,” James’ head snapped up. “I want to go see him.” James shook his head. “I understand. You guys didn’t want me to get hurt. This body has not completed the animangus ritual so it would be dangerous to go out and help. You   
guys were just trying to protect me. I’m sorry for not understanding.”

“You didn’t know,” James replied, trying to comfort me. 

“Can I see him?” I asked, looking towards the boy’s dormitories.

James nodded his head, leading me to the dorm rooms. I rushed down the hall after James, my work lay forgotten on the table.

I walked into their dorm room. Remus was laid in his bed, Sirius was tucking him in, making sure that he was nice and warm. Both boys were shirtless. 

My eyes flicked over Sirius’ back, noticing the bruises. They were pinkish now but they were spread over most of his back. On his left arm was a big jagged cut. 

“Sirius!” I gasp, “your arm!”

Sirius’ head whipped up to meet my gaze. His eyes widened as he scanned my body. He looked away blushing. Averting his gaze from me. I looked to Remus who also scanned my figure before he kept his eyes glued to my face, a blush flushing his pale skin.

I looked down and noticed that my robe had come undone. I blushed, pulling my robe over myself and tying the cord tightly around my waist. No way was happening again. Remembering why I came, I rushed to Remus’ side. Although his energy was low, he spent it carefully watching me. He moved over in his bed as I kneeled next to him. He nervously looked from me to James.

“She knows,” Remus croaked, his voice cracking. His jaw tightened as if he was preparing for the worst.

I nodded my head, biting my lip. James didn’t mean for that secret to get out, well to be fair it’s not like it was difficult. Once he admitted to being an animangus, the secret sort of unravelled. 

“I understand if you never want to speak to me again,” Remus’ voice was barely above a whisper. “I’m a monster.”

“No,” I say shaking my head. I reached out my hand, cupping his cheek in my hand. “Remus, you’re not a monster. You are one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. You never raise your voice. At your worst, your voice never reaches a shout,” I smiled softly at Remus. “When you eat, you tuck a napkin down your shirt like a bib, forgive me for not being terrified,” Remus smiles softly at me. “Now push over, you look like you need a cuddle.”

Remus obliges, scooting over in his bed. I crawl into bed with him, getting comfortable. 

“Tell me if I hurt you,” I sigh, resting my head on his shoulder. My hand rested on his chest as he was wrapped around my waist.

“Can you stop making my friends fall in love with you?” James cries, feeling betrayed by the sight in front of him.

“I want in!” Sirius chuckled climbing in on the other side of Remus, Remus’ head resting on Sirius’ chest. “Come on, Prongs, Worm tail, join us,” Sirius chuckled. 

James squeezed himself between Sirius and Remus, resting his head on Sirius’ stomach. Peter reluctantly laid next to Sirius, on the outside of the bed.

I drift off into a peaceful sleep, surrounded by my boys.

______________________  
Word Count: 2019  
June 18, 2020


	15. Gossip Girls

Sirius shook me, waking me up from my slumber. He held a finger to his lip, hushing me. I looked over at the three peacefully resting boys beside me and got up, leaving them to sleep. I left Sirius standing in the doorway. I rushed over to where I left my homework and then rushed back to my room.

“Where have you been?” Lily asked, her eyes wide as I walked into the room.

“With the marauders,” I reply simply.

“Naughty girl,” Marlene said with a wink.

“Gross,” My nose scrunched in disgust. “My brother is a marauder.”

“Last I recalled,” Marlene stated, a grin spreading across her face. “Sirius Black has no blood relation to you.”

“So,” Lily said shaking her head at Marlene. “What were you doing with the marauders?”

“Especially so late at night,” Marlene gave me a suggestive look.

“I couldn’t sleep,” I explain. “So, I went to the common room to work on potions. The boys walked in and I hung out with them for the rest of the night. I ended up falling asleep in their dorm.”

“Whose bed did you sleep in?” A sly grin coated Marlene’s feature. “Did you and Mr. Black have a scandalous night, sharing a bed with your brother in the room?”

“That’s still gross,” Lily scrunched her nose.

“No,” I shook my head. “The 5 of us, shared Remus’ bed. And before you ask, I was on the edge of the bed, next to Remus. Sirius was on the other side of him.”

“Huh,” Marlene gasped. “Betraying Sirius with one of his best friends? How scandalous!”

I, oh so gracefully, chucked a pillow at Marlene. She managed to dodge the pillow by diving to the right. However, she didn’t account for being so close to the edge. So, in her attempt to jump out of the way she ended up diving onto the floor.

“Ouch,” Marlene groaned from the floor.

“Sucks to suck,” I laugh as I start to change into my uniform.

I grabbed matching red underwear from my drawer. It was one of the few matching items that I owned. Not that anyone was going to be seeing me in them. I turned my back to my friends and changed into a skirt and blouse. It was a colder day so I pulled on my blazer and tights. I ended up braiding my hair into two French braids. A simple style that would keep my hair out of my face. It would be good for later during detention. I’d never been in detention before so, I had no clue what Regulus and I would be doing. I put on some mascara and chopstick then picked up my bag. I dug through my trunk, grabbing the notebooks and textbooks needed for the day.

We had two other roommates; Nina and Kat. Kat hadn’t come back to the dorm the night before and Nina was currently fast asleep in her bed.

“Time to go,” Lily shouted. “Nina?” Lily looked over to the girls sleeping figure. “Nina?” Lily walked over to the girl, shaking her slightly. “Babe, are you going to class?”

“No,” Nina groaned rolling over in her bed. She buried her face in her pillow and covered her head in her blankets.

“Ok, babe, hope you feel better,” Marlene says as we make our way out of the room.

We walked down the hall our arms linked. Marlene was in the middle, linking the three of us. We were heading down to the dining hall for a quick breakfast before heading off to class.

“Tonight,” Marlene said, tugging on our arms. “The three of us, snacks and rom-coms. I believe we are long overdue for a girl’s night.”

“I won’t be there until later,” I shrug. “You guys will have to start without me.”

“What why?” Lily asked.

“Ooh,” Marlene gasped. “Got a hot date?”

“Oh yea,” I reply, rolling my eyes. “You know how much I love Professor Slughorn.”

“Hah,” Lily laughed. “Didn’t know you swung that way.”

“Sirius won’t be happy that you have a thing for older guys,” Marlene says shaking his head.

“How’d you get detention? Get caught outside?” Lily asked as we walked through the doors of the dining hall.

“No,” I shook my head. “I got caught alone with a boy.” I looked away. Knowing that I had hooked them.

I unhooked my arm and rushed over to the Gryffindor table. I sat down pouring myself a nice hot cup of coffee. I looked up to see Marlene frozen in place. Her mouth agape and eyes wide. Lily was beside her wearing a look that almost mirrored Marlene’s.

“What?” They shout in unison, both rushing over to the table.

They sat across from me.

“No way,” Marlene gasped, her eyes wide. “You and Sirius got caught by Professor Slughorn? Alone? Does James know?”

“If he doesn’t,” Lily states, excitement written all over her face. “I call dibs on being the one to tell him.”

“Wrong sibling,” I smirk.

“What do you mean?” Marlene asked, her face scrunched in confusion.

“No way,” Lily shook her head.

“Wait!” Marlene gasped. “You! And his brother? What? No!”

Marlene was completely dumbfounded. As if her brain couldn’t process what I had just said. I mean, I definitely alluded to doing more than we actually did. The farthest he got was holding my hand, not so scandalous.

“Hah, like I said,” Lily laughed. “Please let me tell them.”

“It’s not what you think,” I laughed, shaking my head. “We were talking, I was pretty shook up. I hadn’t realized how late it was. We were just talking. Regulus put his hand on mine, to try to comfort me. Slughorn found us and gave us detention.”

“That’s stupid,” Marlene said, rolling her eyes. “I thought it was gonna be a better story at least. Like Slughorn caught you mid snog. Come one! Where’s the drama?”

I drank a couple cups of coffee along with multiple slices of toast before we had to leave for class.

We strolled through the hall, letting Marlene fill us in with the latest gossip from our year. It was very good stuff. I didn’t know where she could find all of this. Sadly, we reached our class, Defense Against the Dark Arts before she could fill us in on Peter and his Hufflepuff friend Audette. The room was only half-filled when we entered. James, Peter and Remus were missing from their usual spots. Sirius was there though.

“As much as I’d love to stay and gossip,” Marlene said, giving us a sad smile. “I must bid you goodbye and join my lovely partner. We have a project that needs finishing.”

“That is if the teacher even bothers to show up,” Lily comments snidely.

“I thought this teacher wasn’t too bad,” I reply, as we made our way to the second row.

This was one of the most neglected classes. The teachers ranged from being non-qualified to qualified but negligent. This year we had Demetrius Pentwise, a renowned author. He had written several books about werewolves. From what I could tell, he was very enthusiastic about the class.

“I heard,” Lily whispered as we sat down. She leaned in close. “That Professor Pentwise was about to have another book tour. For his newest book, A Slave to the Moon.”

I chuckled, shaking my head. Of course, Lily would be mad at a negligent professor. Though, I wasn’t any fonder of him. It is said that someone with the job of educating the future would neglect them for their own personal gain. It damages the student’s education, giving them fewer options and opportunities in the future.

10 minutes ticked by. Lily and I proceeded to read the textbook in peace. The rest of the class made noise and talked. Sirius was sat behind me, he was alone. Usually, he sat with James in this class. Trevor was on my other side. Though he left me alone.

They both did. They left me alone. The whole class left me alone. No one in the class talked to me.

I stared at the page, my eyes scanning each word. As fast as I read them, the words left my mind. I wasn’t retaining anything.

I turned in my seat. Looking back at Sirius. He was concentrated on writing. His eyebrows furrowed in concentration. His quill raced across the page, scrawling notes. I wasn’t sure what he was writing about. There was no lesson being taught. Suddenly, he bit his lip. His lip disappearing behind his upper lip.

“Hey Sirius,” I say. I felt bad for distracting him from what he was doing.

“Hello sunshine,” Sirius smiled, closing what he was working on. His eyes locked on mine as he crossed arms on the desk. He rested his face on his arms, coming closer to me. His face was inches from my own. His eyes gazed softly into mine, a smile playing his lips.

“What are you working on?” I asked, looking at the discarded notebook next to him.

“Oh,” Sirius said, his eyes flicked to his notebook before returning to my face. “I make sure to write down as much as I can when any of us aren’t able to attend class.”

“How is he doing?” I ask in a hushed tone.

“He’s weak,” Sirius said, his tone as soft as mine. “And needs to rest,” His tongue flicked out, licking his lips. “You definitely cheered him up this morning though.”

A grin slowly spread across my face. Sirius reached out, tilting his head to one side as one of his arms slipped out from under his head. He reached out for me. His hand was warm as he cupped my cheek.

“You definitely cheered me up,” Sirius whispered, a soft smile playing on his lips. I loved it when he was like this. Soft and caring. All of his attention was on me.

That sounds a little self-centred but it’s true none the less.

I reached up, grabbing his hand with one hand. The other reached over cupping his face. With my pointer finger, I traced his face. I started at his brow. My finger danced down his face, tracing his cheekbone. Following the round of his cheeks, I traced his lips. They were protruded. His bottom lip was fuller than the top one. As if I was entranced, my finger was guided to the middle of his bottom lip. It was plush and soft. I pulled it forward revealing his beautifully white teeth hidden behind his bottom lip.

“Sorry,” I gasp jumping away from him. My hand retracted from where it had been playing with his lip. That’s so embarrassing. He probably thinks I’m a total creep. “Where is the professor?”

It had been quite a while and the professor was nowhere to be seen.

“I’m not sure,” Sirius said turning to look back at the door.

Marlene, who was sitting 2 rows over and 2 rows back, was watching us. She had a big grin and had wide eyes. She was sitting on the desk so she had a clear view.

She was never going to let me live this down. Luckily, Lily was too lost in the textbook to notice.

Marlene’s eyes met mine. Her eyebrows moved suggestively as I glared intensely at her. She laughed catching the attention of multiple peers. Lily came out of her entrance to the book.

“What’s going on?” Lily asked, spying Marlene, who was laughing uncontrollably. Her laugh floating through the air like a sweet melody. Her laugh was like bubbles, soft and airy.

“N-nothing, nothing,” I reply, scrunching my nose in annoyance.

I was going to get revenge on Marlene. She’d better watch her back.

“We were just wondering when, or rather if, the teacher was going to show up,” Sirius replied smoothly.

Thank god for Sirius.

I looked over to him, giving him a soft smile.

My saviour. He is such an angel. So calm and collective while I am a big ball of nerves.

“Told you,” Lily said nudging me. She turned to Sirius. “I heard that he is getting ready for his next book tour.”

“A yes,” Sirius sighed loudly. He crossed his arms on the desk resting his head on top of them. “Because who needs a good education in defence against the dark arts. It’s not like we could ever use it in the real world.”

Lily chuckled at his response. I watched Sirius. He laid his head on his arms as he stared up at Lily. His eyes were almost completely closed over and a dreamy smile played at his lips.

I guess the lack of sleep really got to him. I was lucky that coffee was streaming through my veins to keep me awake. I hadn’t seen him this morning in the dining hall.

“Have you eaten today?” I blurt. Sirius’ eyes moved from Lily to look at me.

“No,” He replied shaking his head.

“Sirius,” I scold, giving him a light tap on the arm. “You need to eat.”

He gave me a weak smile before hiding his face, burying his head in his arms.

“Sirius!” A shrill voice squealed. “Are you ok? I didn’t see you at the dance last night, I was hoping to get a dance with you. Maybe we could go to Hogsmeade together to make up for it.”

The red-headed girl sat herself next to Sirius. Her arm protectively swooped around him. Her hand was rubbing his back, although, it rather looked like she was wiping a window. It did not look comforting at all.

This was Aries White. A Slytherin in our year.

I pull my eyes away from the scene unravelling in front of me and look over to Lily. Her eyes were wide as she looked at me. She had an incredulous look in her eyes, as if to ask me are you seeing this.

At least I wasn’t the only one suffering.

Not to say Aries was a bad person. An annoying person? Sure. Some may use that term. I might be one of the people using that term.

She’s just…

“Sirius! Are you ok?” Aries squeals. I never noticed how infuriating her voice is. ” Do you want me to take you to Madame Pomfrey?” She whispered her next question, though we could still hear. “Or, would you like me to take you back to your dorm?”

My chest tightened as she asked the second question. She wanted to take him to bed? Hah, I bet she does.

I couldn’t stifle my laugh. A short chuckle came out. Lily gave me a knowing look as Aries’ questioning eyes glared at me.

“Something to say, Potter?” Aries asked me. Her voice was sickly sweet. Like a sour candy, making you pucker.

The fuck did I do to her?

“Not to you,” I replied turning around. I didn’t allow myself to elevate the situation.

I could feel multiple pairs of eyes on me as I turned around. I decided it would be better not to focus on them and instead get ahead in my reading. My eyes bore into the page but there was no way that I could be to remember any of the information. My eyes scanned each line but nothing was being absorbed. All I could hear is her shrill voice. If Sirius responded, I couldn’t hear him.

“What is going on here?” Marlene asked, her voice was bright. As if she was some cheerleader, leading the crowd in a cheer. But the look in her eye told me she had plans darker than any preppy cheerleader could come up with. Shockingly, this look wasn’t directed at me but rather Aries.

Marlene had climbed onto the table. She forced her legs between Aries and Sirius, pushing Aries away. Even though her back was facing me, I could tell she had a smug smile on her face. I’m so happy to have her as a friend. Once she had them separated, she turned her attention back to Aries.

“So,” Marlene said, venom laced in her voice. Oh, what I would pay to see her face. But all I saw was golden locks. “Aries, right? What are your intentions with Sirius?”

I looked over at Sirius. He was shielded from Aries by Marlene. His face was turned away from her body, he was hiding his massive grin from Aries.

“Because you see,” Marlene states. “I am Sirius Black’s best friend. Well best friend that’s a girl anyway,” She flicked hair over her shoulder. “So, I’ll ask you again. What are your intentions with my best friend?”

Marlene was scary when she was mad. Her voice got very low and serious. It contrasted greatly with her regular high and bubbly tone. Her blue eyes glaring into whoever she was confronting. I have never been on the end of an extreme case. Now that I’m thinking of it, I had never been on the end of her mean glares. We have always been on good terms.

“I, uh, I don’t know what you’re talk-talking about,” Aries stuttered. Her gaze flickered to Sirius, however, since he was out of sight her gaze fell on Marlene’s thighs.

“Oh, so you don’t want to bed Sirius?” Lily asked. Her voice was much kinder compared to Marlene’s.

“Oh!” Marlene exclaimed. “You want to bed him?” Marlene let out a loud laugh. “You. Want to bed him. Sirius Black,” She shook her head, looking down. “I’m sorry darling but he’s taken. His heart belongs to the girl sitting behind me and there’s not a thing you can do to change that.”

Aries chuckled, her eyes rolling. I hoped they stuck to the back of her head. The whites of her eyeball creating a demonic effect that I’d hope her to have.

I could not believe the words coming out of this girl’s mouth. Is she crazy? Oh yea. Yes, yes, she is. A crazy girl that loves her friends. They don’t come any better than her.

“And what exactly is going on here?”

__________________

Double the length because i took a week off. Sorry for that. I want to make sure that I prioritize wanting to write rather than pumping out chapters. I'm really happy with this chapter. A little drama to spice things up. Marlene is a total badass.

Team Sirius or Team Trevor? Team Marlene? Tell me in the comments

XOXO - SinsofaTeenager

Word Count: 3018

June 25, 2020


	16. Sweet Creature

Students rushed, filling empty seats, as McGonagall walked into the room. Her cat-like eyes scanned the room. 

Marlene jumped down from the desk, rushing over to sit next to at the closest available spot, which was next to Lily. It was where Remus usually sat. 

“Where is Professor Pentwise?” Professor McGonagall asked to no one in particular. 

A couple of students spoke, none of it was comprehensible. 

“One at a time,” Professor McGonagall spoke again. Her tone sounded annoyed, though her face remained expressionless. “Ms. Evans?”

I turned to Lily. She smiled at McGonagall. Professor McGonagall knew she could trust Lily, she was never one to be dishonest, especially to a professor. 

“Professor Pentwise hasn’t shown up,” Lily stated. She didn’t dare bring up her accusations from before.

McGonagall nodded. She furrowed her eyebrows as she thought of a solution to this dilemma. 

“You’re all dismissed,” Professor McGonagall said dismissing us.

“Sweet,” Sirius murmured as he jumped up from his seat. 

“And Ms. McKinnon,” McGonagall added. “I believe students are not suited to be seated on desks. Though, if you find the desks more comfortable please take it up with Headmaster Dumbledore. I’m sure the other professors wouldn’t mind new seating.”

“Don’t worry Professor,” Marlene grinned. “I’ll put in a word with Professor Dumbledore and get better seating for you, Professor McGonagall.”

A small smile played at McGonagall’s lips as she tried to keep her serious façade. She was waiting for students to leave.

“Ms. Potter,” Professor McGonagall said, stepping closer to where I sat. “Professor Slughorn wanted me to pass on this message. He wants you to meet him and Mr. Black after supper in front of his classroom. You will be organizing potions alphabetically.” 

“Why do I have detention?” Sirius asked, his face scrunched in confusion. He turned to me. “What did you do to get detention?”

“Not you,” McGonagall replied, “Your brother, the younger Mr. Black. Both of them were caught alone in the dungeons. Past curfew.”

“Professor I swear it wasn’t as promiscuous as it seems,” I pleaded. I did not want to be construed as someone who snuck around with boys late at night. Well, not when I was wrongly accused. 

“Yea,” Marlene added. “We all know that Regulus isn’t the sibling you have to be concerned with concerns for Grayson acting promiscuously.”

“Marlene!” I shout, glaring at her.

How could she say that? And in front of Professor McGonagall! I was mortified. I couldn’t make eye contact with anyone.

“Ms. Potter, I doubt that anybody would believe that you were doing anything, as you said, promiscuous with the younger Mr. Black,” Professor McGonagall smiled at me. It wasn’t a big smile, just enough to see the corners of her mouth turn upwards. “However, since the two of you were caught breaking curfew you have received detention. You should count yourself lucky that Professor Slughorn did not take away house points for your actions.” McGonagall said with a stern look.

At least, she tried to look stern. Her eyes looked too delighted to convince us that she was in any way displeased.

“As for you Ms. McKinnon,” Professor McGonagall said turning to the young blonde. “Shall I remind you that you have had quite a few detentions for the same reason. Although, in comparison, you were guilty of more than just being out past curfew.”

“Ok, ok,” Marlene said. She giggled. Her cheeks displayed a light pink blush.

A moment went by and Sirius was beside me, waiting for me to finish packing up my things. I shoved my textbook into my satchel. Before I managed to shoulder the bag, Sirius had grabbed it from me. 

“Sirius! What are you doing?” I say exasperated. I could not believe that he was carrying my things. 

“I am not letting you carry your bag if yourself when I can easily do it for you,” He said smiling.

“I am not some delicate doll who can’t lift a simple bag,” I reply, my eyes narrowing as I try to take my bag from him.

“Yes, sunshine, I am aware that you aren’t weak and in need of my help,” Sirius smiled, shooing away my hands. “I am doing this because I want to. A beautiful girl should never carry her things.”

“You’re such a dork,” I said as I rolled my eyes.

“Only for you,” Sirius grinned as he slung an arm around my shoulder.

“Hurry along, we do not have all day,” Professor McGonagall said, shooing us out of the room.

We were the last students to leave the room. 

“Where to?” Marlene asked, turning to the three of us.

We were all stood in the hallway in front of the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. It was on November 1st. The middle of the first semester. Not that the classes change over at Christmas anyways. 

Sirius had his arm wrapped around my shoulder. His other arm was holding my bag by his side. I wrapped my arm around his waist. I’m not sure why. Why were we holding each other like this? Was this normal before my jump? Did he do this with other people? Well, I knew he did this with other people. He was touch starved. He told me that he just became comfortable with physical affection in the second year. I helped to coax him out of the fear of being close to people. Why did being in his arms feel so right?

“We should probably get ahead in our work,” Lily said, looking at me. “You’ve only finished up to year two, you have another year to do before being all caught up.” 

I glanced nervously at Marlene. Does she know about the jumps?

“I know,” Marlene laughed. “We got close over the summer. Do you think I wouldn’t notice when you suddenly didn’t know who I was?” 

“Yea,” I laughed. “That makes sense.”

“It’s ok,” Marlene smiled. Her smile made the hallway look brighter. “It just gave me a chance to get to know you all over again. Now let’s go get you up to speed.”

We headed back to the dorm rooms to pick up some of my notes from 2nd year. I had finished revisions for Divination, Potions, Astronomy, Transfigurations, Charms and Herbology. All that I had left were Care of Magical Creatures, Defense Against the Dark Arts and History of Magic. I wasn’t excited to learn about the History of Magic. I had a feeling it was going to be boring. Although, with Sirius by my side, things were never boring.

“Let’s go see Hagrid,” Sirius said after I picked up my notebook. “He can help with Care of Magical Creatures.”

“Are we allowed to do that?” Lily asked.

“Would Hagrid even have the creatures we need?” Marlene asked.

“Let’s not dwell on the details,” Sirius said. “He loves these creatures. He’s one of the people to take care of them. Along with Professor Kettleburn.”

“Who is Hagrid?” I asked Sirius, turning my head to look at him as we walked down the hall.

“He is a gamekeeper,” Sirius replied, he kept his eyes forward, watching where we were going. “He used to be a student here, he never graduated though.”

“It’s rumoured that he opened the chamber of secrets in his third year,” Marlene added.

“I don’t know it seems fishy, I don’t believe it,” Lily said shaking her head.

“Neither do I,” Sirius says shaking his head.

“Why not?” I ask, looking between the three of them.

“You’ll see,” Sirius smiled as we made our way out onto the yard. 

“Does he know about me?” I ask.

It was so annoying to keep this secret. Having to walk on eggshells with people. Being afraid to spill information that is on a need to know basis.

“He does,” Sirius nodded.

We made our way down the field passing the terrifying whomping willow. We were walking towards a hut with a big pumpkin patch out front. 

“Ooh, pumpkins!” I exclaim. 

They were huge! Some of the pumpkins were close to my height. I could only imagine the amount of pumpkin pie that one pumpkin could make. I wonder how many seeds were in them.

A hearty chuckle broke me out of my daze.

“Grayson!” A gruff voice exclaimed. “I was wondering when you’d be comin’ to visit. Are you wantin’ to make some pumpkin pie? You know that yer’ more than welcome to take one when you want.”

I looked to where the voice came from. The man was well over 8 feet. He was huge. Hagrid looked intimidating. Well, his size did at least. When you looked at his face, you couldn’t feel intimidated. His smile was warm and welcoming. 

“Thank you,” I smiled at Hagrid. 

“What can I do for you?” Hagrid asked, looking to Marlene, Sirius and Lily.  
“We were wondering if you could help us teach Grayson,” Lily explained. “She is behind on Care of Magical Creatures and we are currently going over year 2.”

“Of course,” Hagrid chuckled heartily. “I have just the creature. Come along.”

Hagrid led us into his hut. The five of us squeezing into the small area. Hagrid pulled out multiple chairs letting the four of us sit down. 

“I’ll be right back,” Hagrid said as he disappeared into the back of the hut.

There was shuffling heard from the back room. A lot of metal clanging.

“What is he going to bring out?” I asked Sirius.

He was sitting in a chair next to me. Lily was on my other side. Marlene sat next to her.

“I’m not sure,” Sirius replied. He looked over to me, his expression softened. “Don’t worry. It won’t be anything dangerous,” He hesitated. “Hagrid would never put you in harm’s way.”

“Here ‘e is,” Hagrid said, a small black creature was squirming in his hand. 

“What is it?” My eyes widened as I leaned closer to the creature.

It looked like a small, black platypus with an orange beak. 

“This is a niffler,” Hagrid responded. “You named ‘im Norbert,” He laughed. “In yer second, the niffler I was showin’ was pregnant. You wanted to be there when she gave birth. When she finally gave birth, this Lil’ guy practically flew in your arms.”

Hagrid got closer. The creature saw me and squealed with excitement. Hagrid released the creature and it jumped onto my chest. It squirmed around, nuzzling into my neck. It’s small body eventually sighed, falling asleep.

“That one’s not like the rest of them,” Hagrid smiled softly. “Most of them aren’t a fan of stayin’ still. But that Lil’ guy loves to take naps in your arms.”

I rubbed the back of the little creature. Norbert was soft and warm. He was the size of a kitten. 

“I keep ‘im ‘ere for you,” Hagrid said. “So, that you can visit ‘im whenever you please.”

I continued to pet the sweet little creature. I smiled softly, nuzzling my cheek to its soft fur.

“Unlike its brethren,” Hagrid said. “This little guy would rather be with you than chase shiny things.”

To prove his point, he pulled out a silver coin. A sickle, I believe. Hagrid held it out but Norbert was unfazed. Norbert made a noise, like a content sigh. 

“Go get it, Norbert,” I say, wanting to see him in action. “Go get it.”

On my command, Norbert leaps out of where he laid landing on Hagrid’s outstretched hand. He took the shiny sickle and swallowed it whole. Before returning to my collarbone.  
___________________

Word Count: 1923

June 27, 2020


	17. Sectumsempra

After divination class, I met Professor Slughorn in front of his classroom. Both, the professor and Regulus Black were there waiting for my arrival.

“Ah yes, there we are,” Professor Slughorn said, spreading his arms wide as I approached the both of them. 

Regulus stood with his shoulders back, his hands lay lifeless by his side. He was motionless. His eyes fell to the ground when I looked over to him. Regulus was avoiding my gaze.

“Alright then,” Professor Slughorn said as he turned to unlock his bedroom door. 

I stepped into the potions class and followed Professor Slughorn to the back of the classroom. Along the walls were 4 shelves horizontally displayed at the back of the classroom. It displayed vials of potions and ingredients.

“I would like for the both of you to make sure none of these are expired and then put them in alphabetical order,” The professor said, gesturing to the display. 

I bit my lip, holding back any noises of glee. I had an odd passion for organizing. It gives me a strange sense of calm. But I would not let the professor know that. 

I turned to Regulus after the professor walked off. Regulus’ gaze was on the ground. 

“Hey,” I whisper to him as we both walked closer to the shelves. Regulus didn’t respond, keeping his eyes on the vials. “Regulus.”

“Check the dates. If there expired set them on the ground. If not, put A through G on the first row, H through M on the second row, N through T on the third row and then U through Z on the bottom row,” Regulus ordered. “Then once they’ve been sorted, we’ll go from there.”

Once he had finished giving me instructions he walked over to the shelf and started to sort the jars and vials.

“Regulus,” I whisper. He ignored me.

What had gotten into him? What had changed between last night and now? Regulus and Sirius share more in common than their looks. Their persistence to box others out emotionally. Not allowing anyone to know what their thinking. Boys.

“Are we not going to talk? It might make for a long detention,” I say, though my attention was directed towards the labels on the vials. 

He stood silently as we sorted through the potions. We had racked up quite a pile on the floor. Each potion and ingredient was clearly labelled making it easier for us to sort them. We did not talk for the rest of the detention. It was rather awkward. The only sound in the room was the clink of vials and tubes. Occasionally we’d hear the sound of Professor Slughorn mutter something to himself.

“Look at that,” Professor Slughorn said coming up behind us. “That didn’t take long at all. The two of you are free to go.”

Professor Slughorn guides us back into the hallway. Once we’re out of the classroom he bids us farewell before closing the door.

The detention wasn’t too bad. Though it was spent in silence, I enjoyed it, using the time to think.

The hallway was clear of students. We were the only two in the hallway.

“Goodbye Regulus,” I say turning to the pale boy.

“Goodbye,” He replied as he looked around the hallway. “You need to be careful.”

“What?” 

Now he wanted to talk? This boy confused me as much as his brother.

“Someone wants to hurt you.”

“What-what do you mean? Who?” I sputter.

Who would want to hurt me? What did I do?

“There are people who are watching you. You need to be careful.”

“Regulus!”

“I have to go.”

Without another word, he rushed off. I wondered what he was referring to. Nobody was out to get me. He was just trying to freak me out.

As I walked down the hall, I noticed a familiar lock of curly blonde hair. 

“Trevor!” I shout, trying to catch the devilish Slytherin. 

His eyes widened as he looked over to me. 

“Grayson,” Trevor smiled. 

I rushed into his arms. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders.  
“I feel like I haven’t talked to you in forever,” I sighed.

“Yea,” He sighed. “About that.”

“What?” I pulled back looking up at him.

He grabbed my hand and started to walk down several corridors. I wasn’t sure where we were going.  
  
“Look,” Trevor said, as he pulled me down another corridor. “I want this friendship to work,” He pulled at his golden curls. “Honestly, I want more than to be just friends,” His eyes were cold. “But,” He swallowed hard. “You are a blood traitor.”

“What?” I gasp. 

First of all, what is a blood traitor? Did I betray my blood? How can you betray blood? It’s a part of me. Second of all, why was it a bad thing? I mean I get that betraying your blood could be bad because you’re betraying a part of you. I guess that leads back to how am I betraying my blood? What did I do?

I vaguely remember hearing the term but I can’t pin it. It’s not a term that I remember from my childhood. 

“You’re a blood traitor,” Trevor sighed. His jaw was clenched. “Look,” He sighed. “I thought that eventually, you’d realize that you’re better than the filth,” Trevor shook his head. “But you’re blinded by their friendship.” 

“The filth?” I ask. I had no clue what he was talking about.

“The mudbloods.”

What’s a mudblood? I don’t remember hearing it.

After seeing my confused look, he replies, “Evans. If you get rid of her and the infected monster, we can become friends. You might get infected if you hang out with that diseased beast.”

Infected friend? Remus? Oh. OH. 

My mouth fell open in shock. 

Trevor thought that they were less than him? Remus was no less human than me or James. He is not diseased. Nor is he a monster. 

I looked over at him. Trevor was staring straight at me, his stony gaze glaring into my eyes. His jaw was clenched.

“Who are you to judge the worth of others?” I reply, placing it on the correct shelf. 

“I don’t. My master, the dark lord, does.”

Who? 

I decided not to question him further. I’d ask James about what he was saying. I looked around me, trying to find a way back to other students. Judging the title “Dark Lord”, I was sure that his master wasn’t trying to find world peace.

“Grayson,” Trevor grabbed my arm, holding my hand tightly in his. “You should join us.”

Something had changed with Trevor. He wasn’t acting the same way anymore.

“Join me and I will give you the life you’ve always wanted. The life you deserve.” 

“What are you talking about?” I reply as I pulled away from his grasp. 

“Be mine.”

“You’re fourteen. No.”

“What? Do you think our age is a big deal?”

“What’s gotten into you?” I gasp, pulling my hands away from his grasp. “I’m not going to be yours, we’re fourteen. I’m not going to be anyone’s.”

“Come on,” Trevor pleaded, though his voice sounded more demanding. “Be mine. Leave your brother behind. Together we can help to purify the wizarding world. Come serve the dark lord with me.”

“What? No!”

“But you said you’d be mine!” 

“When did I say that?”

“Do you not remember astronomy? Was getting on a table not enough for you?” He snapped at me. Trevor’s voice was dangerously low.

“You never asked me out, you asked me to the dance,” I explain, scared of the future of this conversation.

“So, I went through all of that trouble yesterday and we’re not even dating?” 

“I didn’t realize it was so much of a burden for you.”

“Stop twisting my words!” He shouts. 

“Why won’t you be mine?” His eyes got wide. The madness growing with each sentence. “Our kids would help to purify the wizarding world. Our kids would have so much power. We both come from good families. The dark lord would enjoy having two powerful families combine.”

Why was he acting so possessive over me? What was his problem?

Trevor grabbed my arm, pulling me closer to him. I struggled against his grip to get away from him. His eyes were dark, his dimples were nowhere to be seen. He looked desperate, almost pleading. What was going on?

“Grayson?” A voice called out from the shadows. “Are you ok?”

Sirius came out of the shadows. His face looked more angular under the dim lighting.

“She’s fine,” Trevor replied for me, his grip on my arm increasing.

It felt like it was going to be bruised when he let go.

Sirius and I locked eyes as he scanned my features. His eyebrows knit in worry as his gaze flickered down to my entrapped wrist. Sirius’ jaw tightened upon realization. 

“Last I recall,” Sirius’ eyes darkened as his eyes trailed up to Trevor. “I wasn’t asking you,” He turned to me with a guarded expression. “Are you ok?”

“She’s fine,” Trevor replies again. He pushes me behind him, blocking my view of Sirius. “Now,” Though I couldn’t see his face his shoulders were tense. “If you’ll excuse us. We weren’t done with our conversation.”

Trevor turns his back to Sirius. His face was neutral but his eyes looked as if they’d been lit up with fire. The intensity of his stare made me want to crumple on the floor in front of him. I had no clue why he was acting so possessive. 

Before Trevor could grab me, he was whipped around to face Sirius again.

“You see,” Sirius said, his voice sounded playful. “I don’t agree. I don’t think we’re done with this conversation.”

“Let me go!” Trevor’s voice was low, venom lacing his words.

Trevor shoved Sirius back. Though Sirius barely moved. They were inches away from each other. Their chests were puffed out, an animalistic quality that they both possessed. Sirius more than Trevor but most people didn’t know that. Trevor was looking up to Sirius. They were having some sort of stare off. I could practically feel the testosterone radiating off of them. Both of their jaws were clenched. Although, Sirius’ jaw was more pronounced than Trevor’s. Sirius was statuesque. Trevor was shaking in anger. 

I almost thought they were going to passionately kiss. Like an enemy to lover fanfic. But now, if that was the case, you wouldn’t be reading this fanfic. Or would you?

“Mate, what’s your deal? Are you mad?” Trevor asked as his hands tightened into fists.

“First off,” Sirius said with a grin. He was at an angle so that I could now see his face. “I’m not your mate. And second,” Sirius poked Trevor’s chest causing Trevor to jump back. “My deal,” He poked his chest again. “Is that you,” And again. “Are hurting someone very,” And again. “Close to me,” His face had morphed from grinning to expressionless. His eyes were intense. He turned into my protector. My guardian angel. “And when people hurt the people close to me, I get mad. But you haven’t seen my insanity yet. If you leave now, you will be able to keep that ability. Along with the ability to walk.”

Trevor lunges at Sirius. Sirius sidesteps causing Trevor to fall on the ground.

“Trevor?” A low voice, raspy calls out. “Are you ok?”

The three of us turn to see Severus Snape slink down the hallway. 

“Yea,” Trevor brushes himself off as he stood up. “Just a little tiff.”

Trevor’s eyes were dark as he turned to face Sirius. Trevor moved quickly. His wand was pulled in seconds. A hex was cast soon after. Sirius was knocked off his feet, falling on his butt. He jumps to his feet pulling out a wand of his own. Another hex was cast. Though this time it causes Trevor to hunch over. He looked as if he was in pain as he started to wretch. After a while, a slug falls from his mouth onto the floor. They slither off slowly once out of Trevor’s mouth.

“Looks like your insides represent your manners,” Sirius laughs, his shoulders squarely set in front of me. “Looks like Snivellus can’t help you on this one. I told you sunshine, they’re nothing compared to the marauders. Don’t worry, Lily will soon realize it too.”

At the mention of Lily, Severus had his want drawn. He held it shakily in his hand as he glared at Sirius. Frightened, I cowered behind Sirius as I watched the scene unfold from over his shoulder.

“Don’t take it personally mate but,” Sirius chuckled, taunting Severus to make the first move. “Why would she want you?”

His taunt had struck. Severus started to cast a spell that I had never heard before. 

“Sectum-” 

Sirius dove out of the way. 

I didn’t have enough time to do the same.

“Sempra!”

Pain erupted my senses. A burning sensation flooded my stomach. My hands instinctively grazed where I felt pain. I looked down to see red. Red blood gushing onto my hands.

“Grayson!” Sirius shouts as he rushes to my side. 

Muffled grunts came out of Trevor as more slugs make their way up his throat. His eyes glare at Severus. Severus was in shock. He stared at my bleeding stomach as if he couldn’t process what had happened. As if he couldn’t believe that Sirius moved out of the way. As if he wanted to hurt Sirius.

Why would he want to hurt Sirius? Because of some cruel words? This felt like a strong punishment for some hurtful words.

“Don’t just stand there! Get help!” Sirius screamed at Severus. 

When Sirius looked back to me his eyes were frantic. He looked terrified. I had just noticed that I was laying on the ground. The archway looked grim. Comforting. Sirius’ eyes shifted from my face down to my stomach.

“This is going to hurt,” Sirius says as he removes his hoodie. “But I need to put some pressure on the wound.”

I grunted as he presses down on my wound. It made the pain so much worse. I closed my eyes tight as I tried to endure the pain. 

“No, no, no!” Sirius cried. “Sunshine, please don’t close your eyes.”

I squinted and slowly opened my eyes. Tears had formed in his eyes as he looked over at me. He was shaking. I could feel the tremors in his hands from where he was trying to put pressure on my stomach.

“Sir-Sirius,” I sputter, blood travelling up my throat as I try to talk.

“Sunshine don’t speak,” Tears fell from my eyes as I watched him struggle to keep both hands on my wound.

“What on earth is going on here?” Professor McGonagall’s voice travels through the hall easily, bouncing off of the walls.

She rushed over to us, Madame Pomphrey hot on her heels.

“What exactly happened here, Mr. Black?” McGonagall asked, once she looked at my wounds her stern attitude changed into a more concerned one.

“Trevor and I got into a fight, he attacked first,” Sirius explained as Madame Pomphrey started to work around Sirius. He continues to explain what happened.

“I see,” McGonagall ponders her response. “The three of you will attend detention and Ms. Potter will be sent to the infirmary,” She looked over to Trevor. “On second thought, Mr. Malfoy will also be joining Ms. Potter in the infirmary.” 

“No!” Sirius interjects. “Please, Professor McGonagall, don’t let him near her. He was hurting her.”

“I understand,” McGonagall replies. 

I felt my eyes droop closed. Voices seemed to swirl my senses. I couldn’t make out anything that they were saying. It was like there was a fog covering my ears making it so I can’t hear them. My mind also felt like there was a fog invading it. It was moving as a swamp. A swamp? That doesn’t make any sense. Swamp? Shrek. Ogre boys? Shrek is love. Shrek is life.

Sirius Black is the love of my life.

Wait what?

__________________________

I'm reducing my posting schedule to once a week on mondays. Life's been hitting hard. Btw Vices is FIRE.

Let me know what you think of the character. Would you guys be interested in doing a questions chapter where you can ask people questions? Leave comments with questions you have for the characters. For clarity add the name of the character in your comment.

I may have took aggression out on Grayson in this chapter. Sorryyyy.  
Word Count: 2679

July 6, 2020


	18. Time-Traveller

When I looked around, I was in a big backyard. It looked more like a grassy field by the size. It was surrounded by woods. Set up closer to the house was a sandbox, a plastic one, shaped like a turtle. From where I was standing, I was closer to what looks like a shed, but it looked even bigger. 

My hands were clutching the red dress that I was wearing. Small white flowers were covering the dress. I was also wearing a white sunhat. 

There was a little boy. He looked around six-years-old. He was wearing a bright red shirt with a golden snitch on it. His brown eyes looked into mine. His dark hair shone brightly under the sunny sky. His arm was outstretched towards me. He wanted to hold my hand. 

“Goober,” The boy said, a pout forming on his lips in annoyance. “Come on, grab my hand.”

The little boy was James!

My little hand reached out, grabbing his chubby little hand. 

“Where are we going Tike?” I asked. My responses were scripted. This is a memory.

“Mommy and Daddy have guests over.” 

When I turned back to the house, I saw a little girl being guided by our mother into the yard. The girl was very fair. With wispy blonde hair and dark brown eyes. She had a pair of blue, jean overalls on with a grass green shirt on underneath.

“Alice!” My voice shouts as my feet carry me over to the young girl.

“The three of you play outside while us grownups have a chat,” Mother says. 

Mom was wearing a green dress covered in white polka dots. Her greying hair was pinned up in a bun. She had recently stopped colouring her hair, letting the grey hairs take over. Though my mom still looked stunning. Even with having twins at an older age, she looked phenomenal.

I hug the little girl and we make our way back over to the sandbox to play. The three of us start to make a sandcastle.

After a while, I start to feel parched. Feeling a surge of independence, I pardon myself and rush inside to procure a drink. I can hear the adults discussing in the other room. I tried not to pay attention but curiosity gets the better of me and I wander closer. I hide myself behind one side of the doorway, listening in on their conversations in the next room.

“Do you really think that’s true?” A feminine voice says, it was Alice’s mom. “The prophecy, do you think it is about Grayson?”  
What prophecy? 

“I’m not sure,” My mother replied. “That prophecy was written so many years ago.”

“Yes,” Alice’s father replies. “But you said that when you went to get a reading on your twins that one of them was revealed to have a great destiny.”

“That. One of your children will change the future, a time traveller,” Alice’s mother replied. “DO you believe that is Grayson.”

There was a pause. 

“I know that it is Grayson,” My mother replies. “I’ve met her.”

“Well of course you’ve met her,” Alice’s mother laughs.

“I’ve met the future version of Grayson,” My mom admits. “I wasn’t sure at first. It was such a long time ago. But I know that Grayson is a time traveller, I haven’t the slightest idea how.”

“How can you be sure that you met her?” Alice’s father asked warily.

“Her eyes,” My mother said. Her voice sounded distant. “Her eyes are dark brown but, when you get really close it looks like there’s an outline of a star in the left one. Also, she had the same birthmark on her neck. I met Grayson.”

“What about the prophecy?” My father piped up. He’d been so quiet before that I wasn’t even sure that he was there.

“It says that a pair of twins are prophesized for greatness. Though they will both be gone at the peak of a war.” My mother replies. “I can’t remember the exact prophecy. I didn’t think that it was about our twins, I even forgot about it until I saw her again.”

“Saw who again?” Alice’s father asked.

“Grayson,” My mother replied. “The first time I saw her, was when I was at Hogwarts. She was much older than she is now, she was three years above me. When she saw me, she looked stunned, as if she did not expect me to be there. She was a Hufflepuff if I remember correctly.”

“A Hufflepuff?” Alice’s dad asked.

“She doesn’t seem like a Hufflepuff,” Alice’s mom commented. “A Ravenclaw maybe, not a Hufflepuff though.”

A Hufflepuff? But I am a Gryffindor. How could I be in a different house? How could I be alive in 1911? That’s the year mom went to Hogwarts. If I was in year four when she was in year one then I would’ve supposedly been born in 1897. How is that possible?

“Now that I think about it, I’ve been seeing her for a lot longer than I originally thought. Grayson was the one to read the twins future. She always has the same first name.”

“Goober?” James’ voice rang through the room. “What are you doing?”

The adults stopped talking, as they grew quiet in the next room. I raced to get a glass, rushing over to the sink. 

“I was just getting some water,” I replied. Now I was mentally cursing James for disrupting my eavesdropping. I doubt that younger me knew a lot of curses.

“Hello my darlings,” My mom said, greeting us with a smile. “What are you doing inside?”

“I was just getting some water mommy,” I reply, filling up my glass.

James gave me a curious look before grabbing a glass of his own. 

“Me too,” He added filling up a glass of his own.

“You guys were so quiet I didn’t hear you come in,” Moms smile looked like she didn’t believe us. Her eyes trailed over my face. “Make sure to put your cups in the sink before you go back outside.”

“Grayson,” James said, his voice sounding very loud.

It was strange. Although I heard his voice, his lips lay still. 

“Grayson,” He says again. His voice growing louder.

“James,” I mumble. For the first time, I can actually feel movement from my lips.

The world around me starts to fade as I fall out of my dreamy state and back into reality. I leave behind my mother and her curious gaze and James’ suspicious one. 

“Grayson,” James says. “Please come back to me.” 

His voice was starting to sound even louder. What was going on?

“James,” I mumble again.

I felt someone’s hand tighten around my own. Blankets were covering my body weighing me down.

“How is she doing?” Remus asked, his voice was further away than James.

“We brought her some chocolate to make her feel better,” Peter says along with a large clunk, from what I’m guessing was the chocolate.

“You guys should go rest,” James replies.

A hand brushes some hair out of my face. I hadn’t even noticed that some had fallen into my face. 

“Prongs, how long have you been here?” Remus asked. “Have you slept since,” He paused. “The incident?”

James was silent. Not wanting to admit the truth. Even in my sleeping state, I could tell the answer was no.

“Prongs go get some rest,” Peter said cautiously.

James was always more on edge when I was hurt. Peter didn’t want to unleash the wrath of a sleep-deprived James.

“No,” James replied, sleep evident in his voice. “I need to keep guard. I need to protect her. I should have been there for her.”

“James, it’s not your fault,” Remus said, his voice got closer. “I’ll stay with her, go get some sleep. You look exhausted mate.”

“Alright,” James replied with a yawn.

There was a bunch of shuffling. I assumed it was Remus and James switching spots.

“I’ll take him back to the dorm,” Peter assured Remus. 

Both boys made their way out of the room, leaving me and Remus alone in the silent medical wing. It must’ve been late at night because I couldn’t hear Madame Pomfrey. 

“Grayson,” Remus said, his voice was hushed, a little louder than a whisper. “We all heard you speak earlier, so I want to assume you can hear me. You said James’ name,” Remus’ voice cracked. “You should have seen him. He was so happy. It’s been quite scary, waiting for you to wake up, you’re very pale. You lost so much blood. For a while, we weren’t allowed to see you. It was really scary not knowing if you were going to make it,” Remus sighed heavily. “As you heard, your brother hasn’t been doing well. Neither has Sirius.”

I could only imagine what they were going through. As I was stuck in my dream state. I was still with James. And Mom. I wish I could wake up but it feels as if I’m being pinned down. My limbs felt like they were made of lead.

“You’ve been unconscious for two days. A lot of people have come to visit you, you’re quite a popular student. Madame Pomfrey almost has to beat them off with a stick,” Remus laughed at his own joke. “It’s not the same without you telling us off for doing stupid pranks. It seems like the energy levels of the Marauders are down,” He paused. “Hell, I think even James misses you and Sirius shamelessly flirting in front of him.”

Me and Sirius do not shamelessly flirt! 

“Oh, I know,” Remus chuckled. “You’d say, we don’t shamelessly flirt,” He said in a high voice. “But you do, you totally do. I bet you’re wondering where Sirius is,” Remus sighed. “He is freaking out. I have never seen him this distraught. He says that it was his fault. Marlene took him to calm him down. They went for a walk outside.”

“Sirius,” I mumbled.

I tried to open my eyes but only manage to shut them tightly.

“Sirius, yes,” Remus exclaimed. “Do you want Sirius? I can go get him if you want me to?””

“Remus,” I gasp grabbing his hand. “I’m a time-traveller.”

____________

Word Count: 1707

July 14, 2020


	19. Swept off my Feet

“Yes,” Remus nodded. As he held my hand, he drew circles on the back of it, in a calming matter. He eased me back against the pillows. “You’re right. You are a time-traveller. You travel throughout your years at Hogwarts.”

“No,” I groan. Tilting my head back. The pain from my wounds burning like fire. “I had a dream. It was my mom. She said that she met me when she was in school.”

“That’s impossible,” Remus said shaking his head. “That was over 50 years ago. No, that’s not possible.”

“I need to see Dumbledore.”

“Grayson, it was just a dream. You don’t need to see Headmaster Dumbledore.”

“Yes, I do. It wasn’t a dream. It was a memory. I was listening in to a conversation that my mother didn’t want me to hear,” I groan as I try to sit up again. “I need to see Dumbledore.”

“No, no, no,” Remus hushed. His other hand pushed my shoulder back down to the bed. “You need to rest. You can go see him in the morning.”

“No!” I shout. “I need to see him now!”

“Fine,” Remus said, not wanting to fight any longer. “But let me help you. I don’t want you damaging yourself any further.”

With the help of Remus, I pulled myself out of the bed. Remus pulled my arm around his neck as his wrapped around my waist. The pain seemed to intensify as I stood. The pain would make it harder to walk, but I could manage. I needed to talk to Dumbledore. If I have been attending for years. I needed to know. I needed to know how long this was going to go on for. If this was my first jump, how many more would I have?

Remus helped me as we hobbled down the halls to Dumbledore’s office. His office door was opened. Hushed voices could be heard from inside. As we got closer, I realized how familiar the voices were.

“Mom?” I asked as I rounded the corner.

With the help of Remus, I made my way into the room.

My mom was sat in front of Dumbledore, my father had joined her on her right side in another chair. Dumbledore was sat in his chair, McGonagall joined him on his right. The portraits around the room were shocked at my entrance. Their gazes felt like they were digging holes into me.

“Grayson!” My mother gasped as she turned in her seat.

Her grey hairs were tied into a tight ponytail. She was wearing a light pink dress with a white belt. The dress fell without a crease. No wrinkle in sight. Her face was clean of makeup. Her age showing more than it did in my dream

My father was wearing a tweed suit. His hair, of what he had left, was held in place with the hair gel he invented.

I hadn’t seen them since James and I first left for Hogwarts. My mom’s outfit was much different. She was wearing a matching grass green jumpsuit. My father’s outfit remains quite similar.

I had no clue what they were doing at Hogwarts so late.

“What are you doing out of bed?” My mother asked, jumping out of her seat.

They both rushed to my side. My mother kneeled down in front of me. She lifted my shirt examining the gash in my stomach.

“Oh my goodness,” She gasped. Tears flooding her eyes. “My baby. We weren’t allowed to see you. I didn’t realize how badly you were hurt,” She turned to Dumbledore. “I demand to know what is being done about this? Are we sending our children to a school where students can be killed so easily in the walls?”

“Mom,” I groan shaking my head.

“Where students can be attacked by other students so easily?” She continued.

“Young man, sorry, Remus Lupin, right?” My father interrupted.

“Yes sir,” Remus nodded. He looked a little intimidated by my father.

“Honey,” My mom hissed. “Do you really not know? This boy has been coming to our house for four years. He’s practically family.”

“Can you please carry my daughter to the chair? I would but I’m afraid I am a little too old to be carrying her,” My father said bashfully. As if he was embarrassed of his age. “To think, I can no longer carry my little girl anymore.”

“Dad,” I groaned. My father only smiled at me. “It’s ok, Remus just help me walk over. You don’t have to carry me.”

“No, I insist,” Remus replied, his arms wrapped around my legs.

Remus swept me off my feet, literally, and carried me over to the chair once occupied by my mother. As he carried me the pain had intensified, with the fold of my stomach rubbing against the wound. I had to admit, though Remus looked quite scrawny, he was strong. I didn’t think that he would be able to lift me. Though, I also didn’t believe that Sirius could lift me either and yet he did. At any chance, he could get. It was rather annoying.

As Remus let me down into the plush chair, the pain lessened from my abdomen.

“Are you alright? Are you comfortable?” Remus asked. He was on one knee in front of me. He was staring up at me. Worry filled his eyes. He pitied me. He thought I was weak.

I hated that. I was not weak.

“I’m fine,” I snap, brushing his hands off of me.

I did not want to be touched. I am not weak. I don’t need help.

“Grayson!” My mother scolded. “Don’t be rude to people trying to help you. It’s not lady-like.”

“I’m sorry Remus,” I said looking back at Remus. “I know you are trying to be helpful. I am just feeling overwhelmed.”

“Good,” My mother replied. “I did not raise my only daughter to be rude to those around her. Especially not those who want to help her.”

I bit my tongue. I wasn’t going to argue with my mother. I know she was just trying to help.

“We need to talk,” I said looking at my mom.

“Of course, my darling,” She hummed.

My mom walked over to the chair opposite me. Where my father had previously sat.

“I must ask Ms. Potter,” Dumbledore interrupted. “What are you doing out of bed? You should be resting so that your wound can heal.”

“And Mr. Lupin, might I ask what you are doing out of bed with Ms. Potter?” McGonagall asked. Though she did not look surprised to see him.

“I, well-” I tried to come up with an answer but my head felt foggy. My mind clouded.

“What Grayson is trying to say is that James didn’t want to leave her alone while she was unconscious. When he heard that she was sent to the infirmary, he rushed out of class to see Madame Pomfrey. However, when he got there, he wasn’t allowed to see her due to Madame Pomfrey was working hard to heal her and did not want James to distract her. Peter, Sirius and I would visit her, bringing James a copy of the class notes along with some food. Earlier today, we realized that he had not gotten any sleep. James was afraid that if he left her again that she would be attacked again. So, I stepped up to watch her,” Remus explained. He was standing behind my chair.

“I see,” Headmaster Dumbledore replied as he stroked his beard.

“I’m sure that Madame Pomfrey is perfectly capable of taking care of the students in the infirmary,” Professor McGonagall replied. She was giving both of us a stern look but her eyes showed compassion.

“You’re a good young man Remus,” My father said with a nod. His eyes shone with approval.

“Yes,” My mother smiled. “Your future wife is going to be a lucky lady. I know that I’d be happy if you married my daughter.”

“Mom!” I groaned. I shut my eyes tight, wishing that I could disappear from this room. “Please stop.”

Remus howled from behind me. His laugh echoing the large room.

“What?” My mother said giving me a knowing smile. “I’m just saying,” Her eyebrow cocked, as if indicating that her mother senses had found a secret. “Unless,” Her smile widened. “Has another boy caught your fancy?”

Remus’ laugh only grew louder.

“Mom! What are you talking about? No!” I rush. My stomach started to hurt with how much it was tensing from panic.

My mom would never let me live it down if she knew that I was in love with James’ best friend.

“Ooh, do I know him?” She gasped.

“Oh no,” My father grinned, joining in on the torment. “Does my little girl have a boyfriend?”

“Can we get back to the point?” I scrunched my nose, looking away from her scrutinizing gaze. “Please,” I begged.

“Ooh, honey,” My mom said turning to my dad. “I think we know him. Who do you think it is? Does Remus know who it is? Remus, will you tell us?”

I looked back at Remus, glaring daggers at him. Not that I had anything to hide. But I don’t want him to give them ammunition for later. Plus, we had more important things at hand.

“Ah, Mr. Black, Mr. Potter, come in and join us,” Headmaster Dumbledore said, announcing the presence of the two boys.

“Grayson,” James exclaimed with relief as he rushed over to me, Sirius at his heels.

“Are you ok?” Sirius asked, his gaze trailed over me, examining my wounded state.

“We were worried when you weren’t in the infirmary,” James confessed.

“Shouldn’t you be asleep in your dorm?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at my reckless brother.

“Yea,” Remus added. “Where’s Peter?”

“Peter practically fell asleep when his head hit the pillow making it very easy to escape. I found Sirius outside of the infirmary. He was panicked because you weren’t there,” James confessed. Sirius shot him a glare, probably not wanting us to know about that.

“Ah,” My mom said shooting me a knowing look. “So that’s him. Sirius Black.”

“Mom!” I said with wide eyes, pleading for her not to say anymore.

Remus’ laugh bubbled up again. James and Sirius shot both me and Remus confused looks. I could only look away, feeling my cheeks heat up.

“That’s enough dear,” My father chuckled, patting my mother on the shoulder. “Let young love run its course.”

“Dad, come on,” I gasp, not expecting him to chime in on my public execution

“Mr. Black, I assume,” My father said.

Sirius practically jumped out of his skin. He jumped up to greet my father. His posture was as straight as it could be. He looked like the perfect gentleman.

“Yes sir,” Sirius greeting my father with an outstretched hand. “Sirius Orion Black.”

My father shook his hand. Then he leaned in and whispered something in his ear. My father made sure that only Sirius could hear it. I’d have to ask him later what my father had said.

“Can we please get back to what’s important?” I plead, wanting this insanity to end.

I look over to Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall. They both seemed to be enjoying this. They both had smiles on their faces as if they were waiting for this moment.

“Yes,” Dumbledore agreed. “And what would that be?”

“When was the first time that I time-travelled?” I asked, looking him right in the eye.

Dumbledore froze. As if he was not expecting me to ask that. He probably assumed that I wanted to know what was going to be the punishment of Severus Snape. Rather than something more serious.

“This year of course,” Professor McGonagall replied easily. Though we both knew that wasn’t the truth.

“That’s not true,” I replied shaking my head.

“What are you talking about?” James asked. He looked from the professors to our parents.

“Mom,” I say, looking up to her. “You said that you met me before.”

“When did I say that, my love?” She asked, her smile had slightly faltered. I saw panic in her eyes.

“When I was six-years-old,” I answer truthfully. “I came in to get a glass of water. You were talking to Alice Leland’s parents. About how you’ve met me before,” I felt a lump start to form in my throat. I wasn’t sure why but my emotions were going into overdrive. Tears started to form in my eyes. “About how you met me when you were in the first year. I was a Hufflepuff.”

My father's jaw clenched. He couldn’t meet my eye. He knew it was true. When I looked over to my mother, she was looking at one of the bookshelves. She was rubbing circles into her palm. As if she was trying to comfort herself.

“Is it true?” I pleaded, wanting to know the answer.

“Boys, I think it is time to go,” My father said.

“No,” James said shaking his head. “I want to know what’s going on with my sister.”

“James,” Dad sighed. “No.”

“Dad please,” James pleaded.

“James-” My dad argued.

Our father was trying to slowly guide the three boys to the door but James refused to leave my side. Remus and Sirius reluctantly went to the door. Though they stood in the doorway waiting for James.

“No!” James refuted. “I am not leaving my sister alone. I am never leaving my sister alone again. I want to know how I can help her.”

“James, this is not-” My dad was again, cut off.

“No, I am not going!”

“James Fleamont Potter, if you do not-” My father shouted. Though he seemed flustered shouting at James in front of all of these people.

“I said no!” James said taking my hand in solidarity.

“James,” My mother said softly. “Please do not fight with your father. Join your friends and get some sleep.”

James left without another word. I started off as the three of them left the door, my father closing it behind them. I couldn’t believe that James would defy our father like that. It was a new side to him. He usually would obey all of his father’s orders. I guess a twin’s bond is stronger than a paternal bond.

After the door was sealed, Dumbledore placed a soundproofing seal on the room to make sure that unwanted ears couldn’t listen to our conversation.

“Mom?” I ask, my voice was barely above a whisper.

She still could not meet my eyes. Why was this so hard for her?

“Yes,” My father finally replied. “We both met you at Hogwarts. You were three years above us. A Hufflepuff. Friends with Newt Scamander.”

“You have been enrolled in Hogwarts three times, that I am aware of,” Professor Dumbledore said. “The first being in 1908, the second in 1938 and then recently in 1971.”

I stayed silent. My future is to attend classes, for another 24 years. I was going to repeat the same lessons. Over and over. Who knows, I might have to go to Hogwarts beyond those times. Maybe in 1998? 2001? How long will I be attending Hogwarts? Good news for me, I’ll be qualified for whatever job that I want. I’ll be able to take and retake tests and quizzes. I’ll perfect my knowledge of all subjects.

“However,” McGonagall added. “The headmaster before Albus Dumbledore, Armando Dippet, knew of your,” She paused. As if searching for the right word. “Condition. After assessing your capabilities, he decided to give you a post at Hogwarts. Morticia Malvoir, who was aware of your condition, having taught you years before, took you under her wing. You were her assistant in divinations.”

“We came to you when I was pregnant,” My mom finally spoke. “You seemed so familiar. I didn’t piece it together-”

“Until you looked into my eyes,” I said, finishing her sentence.

“Yes,” My mother sighed. “I remarked, when you were doing my reading, how pretty your eyes were. A star. Only when you started to grow did I notice that you had the same star. You weren’t much older than you are now when I came to you for the reading. As you grew, I did more research and found many incidences where you were spotted.”

“That’s when we came to Dumbledore,” My father concluded.

My jaw fell open in shock. I had lived so many lives. Well, I will live so many lives. It seems so far away and yet it had already happened.

“Why are you telling me now?” I ask.

I didn’t understand why they were telling me instead of shielding this from me. Isn’t that what normally occurred in this situation? The parents will shield this information from their child. To protect their child from the danger this information will bring.

“We thought it would be best that you know,” My mother said. She still couldn’t meet my eye.

“But won’t this do more harm than good? Spoilers?” I ask. I felt so confused.

“We won’t know the harm until the future occurs. In this case, luck is on our side and the future is in the past,” Dumbledore hummed. He stroked his beard.

“So, what now?” I grunted as I repositioned myself.

“Please Hunny,” My mom sighed. “Don’t hurt yourself. We should call the boys back and get you back to the infirmary.”

“Or should we take her to St Mungo’s?” My father asked my mom.

“I can assure you that we have the best care here at Hogwarts,” Professor McGonagall says to try and assure my parents.

“Oh yea,” My mother said with a tight smile. “The same place that got her into this state in the first place.”

“I’m fine,” I state. I just wanted to get back to the point. “What do I do now? Do I just go around as if everything is normal? As if I don’t exist in the past.”

“I’m afraid that’s how it has to be,” Professor McGonagall sighed. “You’ll resume your schooling regularly. Nothing is different. You do not know any more than you did before.”

“Alright,” I sigh.

I had no choice but to agree. It wasn’t as if I could stop this. My timeline was already set in motion.

“Darling, would you like to go to St Mungo’s? Or would you like to continue being treated here?” My mother asked.

“I’ll stay here,” I groan, standing up.

“Fleamont go fetch the boys to take Grayson back to the infirmary,” My mother ordered.

My dad left for the door. Upon opening it, 2 of said boys fell into the room. The third casually walked in, stepping over the other two as if they weren’t even there. Remus made his way to where he stood before being escorted out of the room.

“James,” My mom scolded. “It is rude to eavesdrop.”

“Sorry mom,” James replied, his head low as he got up from the dog-pile that had formed on the floor.

Sirius sniggered at James’ scolding. He stopped as my mom’s disapproving gaze fell upon him.

“Wow,” Sirius muttered. “You can see the resemblance to Grayson.”

I shot Sirius a look.

“See!” Sirius sighed, brushing himself off from the ground.

“Boys, escort Grayson back to the infirmary,” My mother said. She then gave a pointed look to James. “And then straight to bed. No staying up. There is class tomorrow and I will not have any of you missing lessons.”

“But mom-” James whined, though he was quickly shut down.

“No James,” She refuted. “I will have none of it. Your sister is not in need of protection,” She gave a pointed look to both Professor McGonagall and Headmaster Dumbledore. “Those boys will not be going anywhere near her again.”

“But Mrs. Potter-” Sirius tried to protest.

“Sirius,” She said giving him a pointed look. “My daughter is not in need of a bodyguard. The boys responsible have been delt with. Now off to bed.”

Without further protest the boys nodded and started to leave for the door.

“Forgetting something?” My father called after them. “Or rather someone.”

“Right,” James said as the three of them rushed back into the room.

As they turned the corner James and Sirius were fighting to make it in first. As James reached for the door frame, Sirius ripped him away from it throwing him on the ground. Remus was stood in further back in front of the door, watching the situation unfold.

“Right, right indeed we are,” Sirius said, rushing over to me.

Before Sirius could get far from the door James grabbed his leg, tripping him. They fought viciously. Pulling each other back. Each trying to be the one to carry me back. A useless fight. Though I kind of hoped that Sirius arrived first.

“Boys!” My mother scolded. Her age did not decrease the terrifying tone in her voice. “What are you animals?”

As they lay speechless on the floor, Remus walked around them as if they were no more than a puddle. Remus walked past my mother who relentlessly scolded the two boys and straight towards me.

“Ready?” Remus asked as he came up to where I sat in the chair.

I felt useless. Not even being able to walk properly without help. I wish that my wound could be healed already. It was rather tiring having to have someone help me get around.

“Yes,” I reply with outstretched hands.

Remus first helped me into a standing position. He held my waist, steadying me. I looked into his eyes.

I never realized how caramel they looked until now. A rich brown. Like a darker shade of butterbeer. I didn’t even notice when he had helped me earlier. His hair was a few shades darker than his eyes. Remus had a few strands fall forward into his eyes. When his hand didn’t reach up to brush it away, I took it upon myself to do it for him. As if out of instinct.

I looked away quickly. That was embarrassing. I hope he didn’t think that was weird. That was really weird. Why did I do that?

I did not need to be developing a crush on another one of James’ friends. Two out of three is enough as it is. I doubt that I would fall for Peter. Not that he wasn’t appealing in his own way but, he was always skittish around me.

“Are you ok?” Remus said suddenly.

I could only nod in response.

“Ok,” He said looking at me curiously. “I’m going to lift you now.”

I nodded again. I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck as Remus cradled me in his arms. His strength still shocked me. Physically and mentally.

I looked away from Remus towards the boys on the floor.

James and Sirius had the same expression. They both were watching the two of us with knit eyebrows and clenched jaws. I wondered why they both were so angry. Though I had to admit that Sirius looked very cute as he wore a small pout.

After saying our good-byes to my parents, the four of us headed back to the infirmary. I felt bad for leaving McGonagall and Dumbledore to the wrath of my mother. They would definitely get a stern talking to about the safety of their students.

“How long do I need to stay in the infirmary?” I asked to no one in particular.

My head was resting on Remus’ chest, bobbing with each step that he took.

“Another day or so,” James responded. “Madame Pomfrey wants to make sure that your wounds finish closing up before you’re up and walking again.”

“Too late for that,” Remus chuckled. I felt the vibrations against my head. “She practically tried to sprint out of bed. Who know how much worse that made it?”

Sirius stayed silent. His jaw was clenched as he stared straight ahead. He didn’t join our conversation for the whole walk to the infirmary. Not that we talked about anything important. Just mindless banter.

“Oh!” James exclaimed. “We have quidditch practice on Wednesday, you’ll have to ask Madame Pomfrey if you’ll be well enough to come practice. Games start in 2 weeks and we wouldn’t want half of our best pair of beaters to not be up to date with all the new techniques and strategies.”

“Would I really miss that much by not attending one practice?” I asked. “I’ve attended months’ worth. I feel like I’m pretty caught up.”

“How dare you!” James gasped dramatically. “You can never be completely caught up on quidditch. There’s always more to learn, or practice. Right Padfoot?”

Sirius didn’t respond. He looked like he was in a daze.

“Padfoot?” James asked again.

“Yea, I agree James,” Sirius replied, void of any emotion.

His eyes looked glazed over. As if he was barely aware of his surroundings. Like he was vaguely aware, enough so that he wouldn’t bump into anything or trip.

“Sirius?” James asked, concern filling his voice.

“Yea?” Sirius said without turning to look at his worried friend.

“Mate, what’s wrong?” James asked.

“Nothing,” Sirius replied. “I’m fine. Nothing’s wrong.”

“Sirius,” I turned my head to talk to Remus. “Remus can you bring me closer to Sirius?”

Remus chuckled but none the less brought me closer to Sirius.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, turning my head to face Sirius.

From Remus’ arms I had to look up at Sirius. It was a little hard on the neck but at least it wasn’t too painful on my wound.

Sirius paused. He looked from me to Remus to James. He looked as if he was having a silent battle in his mind.

“I need to talk to you,” He says. His voice was a little above whisper.

“Ok,” I reply a little confused. I waited for a moment but he still hadn’t replied. “Go on.”

“No,” Sirius sighs. “I need to talk to you alone.”

___________________

I'm really excited that this chapter is finally out. You guys get to meet the Potters and find out more about Grayson's past. 

The boys are like who needs sleep.

Tell me in the comments what you think of this chaper!

Word Count: 4326

July 20, 2020


	20. Ladies of Leisure

“Oh ok,” I looked around awkwardly. “Do you mind carrying me? That’s kind of the only way we’ll be alone.”

“Oh! Of course, I don’t mind,” Sirius replied.

“Why can’t you tell me?” James asked. 

I felt bad. James and Sirius never kept secrets from each other. I wondered what was so important that Sirius didn’t want to talk to the other boys about it. Why would he want to talk to me all alone?

“It’s between me and Grayson,” Sirius replied.

“Grayson and I,” Remus replied as he passed me over into Sirius’ arms.

“I suppose, you have to talk to my sister as well?” James asked frustrated.

“Yea, mate, you could’ve talked to her earlier. It’s my turn now,” Sirius added.

“No,” Remus sighed shaking his head. “Grammatically, it’s Grayson and I. Not me and Grayson.”

“What?”

“Huh?”

“You know what, come on James. Sirius, if you’re not back in 30 minutes, I’m coming out to find you,” Remus threatened. 

Remus grabbed James’ arms, leading him back to the dorm rooms. 

It dawned on me that I would be left alone with Sirius. I would be left alone, with Sirius Black. The Sirius Black. Who, over a short period, have made me develop a crush on him. I developed a crush on this man without any previous knowledge of this world. I was also so close to him. I could hear his heart race as I lay my head against his chest. 

“Let’s get you somewhere more comfortable,” Sirius said.

He stepped with long strides. His long legs casually walked down the hall with me in his arms. It wasn’t long before we arrived back at the infirmary. 

I didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t sure what this conversation was going to be about. Why couldn’t we talk in front of Remus and James? Did he find out about my crush on him? Was he weirded out by it? Does he not want to be near me anymore?  
We entered the infirmary and Sirius quickly set me on my cot. Only then did I notice the pile of candy and cards at the end of my bed. Once Sirius leaves, I’d have to go through them and make sure to thank each person accordingly.

“So,” Sirius said as he sat down on the chair next to me.

“So,” I reply awkwardly. “Why did you want to talk?”

“Yea. So,” He paused as if he was looking for the right words. “I like you. Before you jumped, I was sure that we were going to be a couple.”

What.

We were going to be a couple. And then I jumped. And because I jumped, we are not a couple. 

Ha. 

Haha. Right. So, this sucks. I am not looking forward to the rest of this conversation.

“But I can see that you don’t have any feelings for me.”

I felt my jaw drop.

He wasn’t looking my way. His eyes rested on the candy at the end of my bed. His hair fell in his face. I couldn’t see the expression on his face.

“You don’t feel the way that I feel for you and that’s ok,” Sirius rambles. “Because you can’t control when you jump. It’s not your fault that you don’t know me. Just life. I can live with that. I think that I’ll be alright if we stay friends. I just don’t want to lose you. I’d rather have you in my life, as a friend.”

“Sirius-” I tried to argue.

“No,” He mutters. “Please, you don’t need to make me feel better. I am willing to be your friend. But, I want to pursue other people.”

I felt a pain in my chest. I forced myself to look away from Sirius.

Other people? He wants to pursue other people. 

“Ever since you first jumped, I knew that things were going to be different,” He said.

I felt his eyes on me but I kept my gaze on the presents at the end of my bed. I had a feeling that I would be very close with the candies once Sirius left my side.  
“You didn’t remember all of the history that we shared. All of the feelings and emotions that we had poured into each other,” He paused. 

The scraping of the chair told me that he was getting closer. He picked up my hand that was by my side. I felt numb. Not having control of my body anymore. He held my hand into his own, cupping it between both of his hands. 

“Sirius, please.”

I turned to him and wrapped my other hand around his. His eyes were filled with tears. 

I didn’t understand why he was making this difficult for the both of us. We could just be in a relationship and start fresh. I could form more amazing memories with him and we could go on.

“No,” Sirius said. His grip tightening on my hand. His eyes stared at our intertwined hands. “It won’t be the same. I thought it would go back to normal. After months of believing that everything will be fine, I realized that I need to see other people. That I can’t keep living with the fact that you might never remember what we were. And to start over feel wrong. Like I am giving up on who you once were. What we once were.”

“But I’m still me. We could still have that,” I beg. 

“But you don’t remember,” One of his hands trailed up to my face, cupping it gently in his hand. His thumb swiped at my face, wiping away tears that trickled down my face. “I want to wait until you remember me to continue what we have. Until then I will pursue other girls and you can pursue other guys.”

“Oh, can I?” I laugh bitterly. “Thanks for your permission. Is this you asking my permission to shag other girls?”

Sirius stayed silent. His hand that once held my cheek ran through his mane of hair.

“Oh wow,” I breath incredulously.

“It’s not like that.”

“Oh really? It’s not? Whatever. Go bloody shag as many girls as you heart desires. You have my bloody signature.”

“Grayson.”

“What? Do you want it in bloody writing too? Better fetch me a quill.”

“This is only until you remember.”  
“And what if I never remember.”

“What?” 

His jaw clenched. Unshed tears continued to pool in his eyes.

“What if this is it? That this is all that we’ll ever be. That I will never remember.”

“But that’s not true,” Sirius said shaking his head. “In the past, you experienced all of this meaning future you will too.”

“And what if that was the far future? What if I live out a large portion of my life not remember the first three years at Hogwarts? Are you going to throw away what we both feel to wait for me to remember? Something that may never happen.”

“Yes.” 

I took a shallow breath. He doesn’t want me. He wants the memory of me. Sirius wants something that he may never get. He is foolish. If he keeps chasing the memory of what was he could miss out on everything in the present. Even if it is my future, it is his past. 

“Then leave.”

“What?” Sirius gasped.

“If you want to keep chasing something that may never happen,” I pull my hands away from his. “Then leave.”

“No, I’m not going to leave-”

“Why not?” My eyes glared into his. “You just told me that you only want me when I have all of my old memories and I don’t. So leave.”

“Grayson, please-”

“I don’t want to see you anymore. I mean I lost my memories so it’s not like I ever liked you in any romantic way anyway.”

“I still want to be friends-”

“Leave.”

I tore my gaze away from him and turned over in my bed, bringing the covers over my head. I hid away under the covers so that I didn’t have to see him walk out. More so that he didn’t see how many tears rolled down my face.

“My heart will always belong to you,” Sirius left a kiss on the sheet covering my head. I felt the soft press of his kiss against the back of my head. “I will wait until your heart belongs to me. Have a goodnight sunshine.”

His footsteps echoed out the doorway. I heard them fade down the hallway until I was left with the heavy silence. It was almost peaceful. That is until my sobs broke loose. The rocked me into a blissful sleep.

Throughout the few hours of sleep that I did get, my dreams were blank. No Sirius, no James, no anybody. Just a peaceful blank slate.

In the morning, the bright sun woke me from my slumber. Next to me sat a sleepy James.

“Hey,” James said softly.

It was weird. James was never this silent. He must already know what Sirius and I talked about. I spied Marlene and Lily silently by the door.

“How long did you know?” I ask.

James stayed silent. He looked down not making eye contact with me.

“Well,” I laughed bitterly. “Looks like you got your wish Tike. Both of my potential suitors are no more. You can return to the mother and father with the good news. Although, I doubt mother will be quite as happy as you.”

“I didn’t want you to get hurt.”

“Well, dear brother,” I smiled at him sweetly. Tears had already started to freefall down my cheeks. “That’s what happens when I get caught in the crossfire. I’m the only one that gets hurt.”

“James, we’ll take over,” Merlene said, approaching cautiously.

“No,” I said as I wiped the tears off. “He hasn’t answered my question. How long did you know that Sirius was going to tell me that?”

“He told us when you were first put into the infirmary,” James answered. His voice was low. “When he went after you, before you were attacked, he was set on having the conversation with you then. But then he caught you with Trevor and well you know the rest.”

“Why? Why the sudden urge to tell me?” My jaw was clenched.

“He said that he couldn’t handle it anymore,” James replied quickly.

“Wow,” I replied dryly.

Oh, he couldn’t handle it. But still wanted to be friends. So, what Sirius really wants is to be able to shag and make out with someone. Since I was no longer filling that slot for him, he wants someone else. I just got dumped and I wasn’t even dating the guy. 

“Can I go back to my dorm?” I say, not directed at anyone in particular.

“Yea,” James said hopping up to his feet.

James wheeled over a wheelchair.

Where was that last night? Could’ve saved me a ton of awkward encounters.

Marlene was by my side quickly and helped me into the wheelchair. Lily picked up the sweets and cards placing them into a bag. 

We slowly made our way back to our dorm in silence. As we passed students in the hallway, I made no eye contact with them. I stared at the different types of floors. Analyzing every part. 

Making it up the stairs took some more effort. 

“Why won’t you let me cast the spell?” James asked.

“Tike, Lily is much better at it and I’d rather not die.”

With a small pout from James and a chuckle from Marlene, Lily cast the spell. The three of them raced after me up the stairs as I float in my wheelchair. Lily had given me the bag of treats to bring back. It was a pretty hefty bag.

After I landed at the top of the stairs, we continued to make our way back to the dorms. Many people gawked at me as I passed them by. James pushing the wheelchair. 

Upon entering the common room, many faces turn to greet us. 

Philip Jennings, our quidditch captain rushed over. 

“Will she be ok for practice?” He asked James. Concern lacing his voice.

“Yea, she’ll be ok,” James answered. “Though she will have to take it easy.”

“Ok good,” Jennings replied. “as long as she can hit a bludger, she’ll be able to keep up. I’ll make sure not to have any exercises that are too extreme for her in this state.”

“I’m right here,” I say, looking up to our captain.

“Don’t worry,” Jennings smiled. “You’ll be ready for our first match this Friday.”

I nodded. 

Jennings ran back over to the rest of our teammates. 

More students said pleasantries to me as I passed them by. I smiled at them. Though all I wanted to do was sleep and eat the delicious candy that was given to me.

I noticed that Sirius was sat on the couch, chatting to some Gryffindor girl. 

He moves on fast.

He looks over, luckily, I look away faster, avoiding him catching my stare.

The audacity of that boy. He did not move far when he moved on.

“This is where I leave you,” James said.

James bent down giving me a hug. 

Once again Lily pulled out her want elevating me up the stairs. Both girls met me at the top of the stairs then Marlene proceeded to wheel me into our dorm room.

A huge sigh escaped my lips as the door shut behind us. 

Kat’s coils of thick hair bounced as her head shot up with wide eyes. Nina was still asleep in bed. 

“You ok?” Kat asked, she closed the letter that she had been previously been reading. 

I wondered who had written her the letter. Was it her family? Or maybe a lover?

“Boys suck,” I mutter.

“Got that right,” Nina mumbled as she rose out of bed.

“Bloody hell,” Marlene gasps. “I thought you were asleep.”

“As if,” Nina yawned, she pulled her straightened black hair into a ponytail. “Ever since James started shouting for the two of you this morning, I wasn’t able to fall back to sleep.”

“Sorry,” Lily said shyly. 

Marlene brought me over to my bed. Once she was sure that I was in a comfortable sitting position, she crawled in next to me. The bag of candy and cards in our laps.

“So, why the boy troubles?” Kat asked, crawling over to the end of her bed. 

“Well,” I exclaimed. “Sirius wants to pursue other girls.”

“No!” Nina gasped; her eyes wide.

“What an arse!” Kat exclaimed.

Both girls ran over to my bed. Nina sat with her legs crossed, her back was perfectly straight. Meanwhile, Kat was leaning on the right post at the end of my bed. Lily had also come over to join us. She took her usual spot on my left.

“I know right,” Marlene exclaimed. 

“Forget about him,” Lily said, laying her head on my shoulder. “Read some of the cards that you got.”

“Yea,” Kat laughed. “Pass us some candy and let the fun begin.”

“What about class?” I asked, knowing that Lily was a stickler for going.

“Meh,” She shrugged. “This is more important.”

I was glad that I had a friend this good to me. Willing to give up something she cared so greatly about to make me feel better.

“Plus,” Kat added with a smile. “James or Remus will give her notes on what she’s missed.”

“Haha,” Marlene laughed. “Very true.”

I reached into the bag and pulled out the first thing I could find. 

Bertie Bott’s Every Flavoured Beans. 

“Ooh!” Kat squealed, “My favourite!”

I chucked the box at her. I tossed the rest of the girls the first thing to touch my hand. Nina and Lily received sugar quills. Marlene got a chocolate frog and I got some Jelly Slugs.

I pulled out the first note from the collection. It was a smaller card with a snitch on the front of it. A quidditch themed card.

“Potter,” I began. “I hope you heal quickly; the team needs you to win the cup this year. Don’t tell the others but you’re by far the best player. Sincerely, Philip Jennings.”

Marlene erupted in laughter.

“Straight to the point that one eh?” Nina said rolling her eyes. Her Canadian accent shining through. 

“And they say men only want one thing,” Kat gasped.

“Yea, they do,” Lily laughed. “To win quidditch.”

“The next one,” I reached into the bag and pulled out a card that was a bit bigger than the last. On it was a vase of flowers. “Grayson Potter. I’m so sorry for what happened. You need to know, that I never meant for you to get hurt. I hope you enjoy the pumpkin pasty. Love Trevor. P.S. We need to talk.”

The room fell silent.

“At least he sent a good treat,” I joked trying to lighten the mood.

“Sirius told us,” Marlene said softly.

“Well,” Lily interjected. “He told us what he saw. That Trevor was being overprotective and he was hurting you.”

“Oh yea,” I snorted. “As if Sirius doesn’t know a thing or two about hurting me.”

“Guys are dumb,” Nina sighed.

“Yea,” Kat added. “They act as if they have the pick of the litter when it comes to girls.”

“Let’s stop them,” Marlene said, her eyes were foggy as she got lost in her head.

“How?” I asked her.

“Let’s become untouchable,” Marlene smirked. “Free of any man.”

“Like the hunters of Artemis,” Lily nodded.

“What?” Marlene asked.

“Greek mythology?” Lily stated as if it were obvious.

“Anyways,” Marlene said moving on. “We will be unaffected by any man, yet make them all want to be with us. We will make them wish they could have us. We will float above the rest. With one rule,” She paused. “No boys.”

“What?” Kat gasped. “Like no kissing? Like not even just to mess with their heads?”

“Baby, you’re speaking my language,” Marlene laughed. “Yes, you can do things with the males, make them fall for you but no relationships. Does everyone agree?”

“What about girls?” Kat asked with an eyebrow cocked. 

“Hmm,” Marlene pondered, tapping her chin.

“No,” Lily said. “No girls, no boys, no relationships. Make them fall, make it hurt, leave unscathed.” 

“Get revenge,” I nodded.

If Sirius wanted to see other people, I would do exactly that. But I was going to make it hurt. Like hell.

“Isn’t that a little mean?” Nina asked.

“No,” I reply quickly. “We’re doing this for the girls who have been hurt before us. Every rejected person who’s had their heart stomped to pieces.”

“We will be dark angels,” Lily joined.

“Make the boys weep when they realize that we are untouchable,” Kat nodded.

“We each have a part to play,” Marlene smirks. “Nina is the introverted one, Lily is the Brainiac, Kat is the flirtatious one, Grayson is the sporty one and I am the rebellious one. We’ll have nicknames.”

“Wow,” I exclaimed. “You really had that all figured out.”

“What should we call ourselves?” Nina asked.

“Vipers?” Marlene asked.

“Too aggressive,” Lily replied.

“Fantastic 5?” Kat said.

“No,” Marlene said. 

“Ladies of leisure,” I blurted.

The four girls turn to me.

“Very elegant,” Lily smiled.

“All for?” Marlene asked.

All five of us raised our hands. 

“Awesome,” Kat nodded.

“Should we give ourselves nicknames? Like your brother and his friends?” Nina asked.

“Oh yea,” I nod. “Adds to the fun.”

“Alright,” Marlene says. “So, they should go with our styles. I think Kat should be Siren, for how she flirts and lures men to their death.”

“Only me? Nah, baby, men and anyone who gets in my way,” Kat says with a wink.

“Lithe will be for Grayson, due to her athletic abilities,” Marlene continues.

“Lily should be Fox, short for Foxy, because of how clever she is,” Kat said. “Also, Nina could be bashful.”

“Like the dwarf?” Marlene laughed.

“No, no,” Lily said shaking her head. “She’ll be Muse, like musing for her pensiveness and how she always thinks before acting.”

“I will be Rebel,” Marlene added.

“Marlene,” Kat gasped.

“Where’s the creativity?” I giggle shaking my head.

“What do you mean?” Marlene asked looking at the both of us incredulously.

“You just labelled yourself the rebellious one and wanted your nickname to be Rebel?” Lily asked.

“Did you run out of ideas so soon?” Kat teased.

“I got it!” Nina exclaimed. We all turned to her. “She could be Razel(pronounced, ray-zel). But when you spell Razel it’s Raise Hell.”

“That’s perfect!” Kat said, fist-bumping Nina.

Lily the elegant and brainy, named Fox.

Nina the gorgeous and shy, named Muse.

Marlene the beautiful and rebellious, Razel/Raise Hell.

Kat the stunning and flirty, Siren.

And me, Grayson the lovely and athletic, Lithe.

“Let’s make Sirius Black wish he were dead,” I mumbled.  
_______________

Word Count: 3477

July 27, 2020


	21. Introductions

The next morning, I was no longer Grayson. I am Lithe. The athletic member of the Ladies of Leisure. No longer can someone tell me what to do. I may not have any memories from before this year but I wasn’t going to let that dictate my life. Sirius Black, who technically started our group, would have no say in what goes on in it. I was no longer the girl that got rejected by boys. I was the girl that would reject boys. I am untouchable. I am strong. I am wanted. 

I knew that eventually this group would fade and I would find myself in a relationship but for now, I would have my fun. I would commit to being single. I would put my friends and family before everyone. I would put quidditch and school before relationships. I would go on dates. But they would never progress to anything further. I would cut the person off before there was even a chance of catching feelings.

No one can hurt me again. I won’t let them. 

It’s been two days since Madame Pomfrey let me leave the infirmary. Since then, my dorm mates and I devised a plan to make all eyes befall on the five of us. 

Finally, I was able to walk on my own and return to class. This would be my first day back. The start of our plan. 

The sun woke me up as it shone through the window. The rest of the girls were asleep in their beds.

Marlene was sprawled out. Her blonde hair sprawled across her pillowcase. Soft snores rang through the room, singing their quiet melody. One hand laid out next to her face, her freshly painted nails curled against her palm. Almost like a half-hearted fist. Her other hand was stretched out. Both of her legs were kicked off her sheets. Her toe-nails were also freshly painted. 

Last night, Marlene said that the finishing touches to our new looks were to have our nails painted. Making sure there’s not a detail out of place. Lily painted her nails a soft pink. Marlene opted for black, thinking it would add to her rebellious façade. I chose a bright red with my middle fingers being gold. On the opposite hand, I had the reverse. Kat sported a hot pink and Nina had on a soft purple. 

Lily looked as if she was a princess. Her red hair was tame for once as it framed her face. Her hands laid by her side. She looked like a red-headed Aurora or Snow White. I had never met someone who looked so pretty as they were asleep.

I decided that I would read with the time that I have. Due to me having so much time off, I was able to catch up on homework and the years of work that I was missing. I was finally all caught up. I could finally relax. 

I picked up the book that was on my nightstand. Where the Red Fern Grows. I was reading it with Peter. Though, I had to stop for a while because I had to concentrate on my studies. But now that I was free, I was able to read again. 

The clock next to me read that it was 5:09, so I had about an hour before I needed to wake the girls up for class. I usually woe up later than this. But with all of the sleep that I’ve been getting recently, my internal clock has been reset so that now I fall asleep early and wake up earlier.

When I looked back up at the clock, it was 6:05. Lily and Nina were both awake. Nina, currently, was in the shower and Lily was reading a textbook. 

I climbed out of bed and walked over to Marlene’s.

“Marlene,” I said as I climbed into her bed. “Marlene,” I repeat, collapsing on top of her.

“Mm,” She groaned, pulling her blankets above her head. 

“Come on babe,” I sighed, ripping the blankets out of her grip. “You need to get up, our plan starts today.”

“The plan!” Marlene exclaimed as she jumps up in her bed. 

I fell to the ground as a result. Nothing hurts worse than being thrown down on to hardwood floors. 

“Ouch,” I mumbled as I got up.

“Plan?” Kat mumbled wiping the sleep from her eyes.

“Come on,” Marlene exclaimed jumping out of bed. “So much to do,” Her eyes darted over to the clock on the wall. “Only an hour and a half to get everyone ready. We need to make a good impression at breakfast.”

“Next!” Lily exclaimed, rushing to the bathroom as we heard the shower turn off.

“I call after Lils,” Kat muttered as she sat up.

“Guy, we should start using the nicknames,” Marlene said. “You know, to get used to them.”

“Alright Razel,” I say as I walk over to my wardrobe.

My outfit had been selected for days. Not that I had much selection due to the uniform. My skirt was laid out with biker shorts and the school blouse. My blazer was hung up in the closet with my tie and robe. My high knee socks were laid out as well with a matching pair of black underwear. Everything was so pristine. 

Everyone showered fairly quickly. I was the final one to take a shower. When I came out of the shower, everyone else was either blow-drying their hair or putting on some makeup.

“Sit,” Marlene said, pulling me over to a chair in front of the mirror. “I’ll work on your hair; you work on your makeup.” 

I looked across the many makeup supplies in front of me and grabbed what I needed as Marlene started to brush and dry my hair. She just needed to dry it. I was only going to have it in a straightened ponytail, going for a preppy-athletic look. Since I was a more athletic look, I didn’t need to wear as much makeup. For my makeup, I was going to do a light smoky eye with bubble-gum pink lip gloss. I didn’t wear any foundation. I kept it simple with mascara, eyeshadow, eyeliner and lip-gloss. 

Marlene had a darker look. A dark smoky eye with dark red lips. She was scarily gorgeous. Her eyes were dark, making her blue eyes stand out. Razel had her hair slicked back into a faux-mullet. 

Kat had a toned-down version of what Marlene had done. Though, instead of a dark smoky eye, she had her eyes lined so sharply that it looked as if it could cut someone with ruby red lipstick. Siren’s hair was down, in her natural curls. Her hair framing her face. Her bangs cutting off just above her brows.

Lily had a soft pink eyeshadow and opted for chapstick on her lips. She wasn’t wearing much makeup. Fox’s hair was pleated into twin French braids. 

Nina opted not to wear makeup. She put on her glasses and applied some chapstick on her lips. Muse’s hair was straightened. Nothing much had changed in her routine.

Our new names weren’t to differ ourselves from who we are. They were more so that we could embrace who we are. To be fearless and unafraid. 

Even in the way we sported our uniform showed our unique personalities. We were dressed to the nines, uniforms were spotless. We were pristine. 

“Ready?” Lily asked, grabbing my hand.

“Always,” I grinned. “Are you Foxy?”

“You know it,” Lily laughed. 

With one hand intertwined with Lily’s and the other gripping my schoolbag, we were on our way. 

Razel was the first one out of the door. Vixen followed closely behind at her heels. Next was Muse, in the middle of our group. Leading up the rear was Foxy and I. Foxy, though having the better rear out of the two of us, was in front of me. Her hand was still intertwined with mine.

“Now, now, now,” Razel announced, grabbing the attention of the common room. I couldn’t see her but I knew that she was being as eccentric as ever. “I would like to introduce a group of ladies that have been reborn. We needed a change and so we have been renamed, throwing away the old. I present to you, the Ladies of Leisure.”

I could hear some applause come from the common room along with some wolf whistles. 

“Settle down, settle down,” Razel says. “Now, you all have the luck of getting to preview what will happen at breakfast,” She paused turning to the rest of us. She shot me a wink. “Let me introduce our little group. These will be the names you will refer to us until we say otherwise,” Her tone was stern. “Now, I am Razel.”

Her heels clicked down the steps as she made her way down the staircase. She was going to treat us as if we were her dates, guide us down the staircase. 

“Next,” Razel continued. “We have the flirty Vixen.”

Vixen stepped forward. Her black boots were soundless as she stepped down the stairs. 

“Also, the shy beauty Muse.”

Muse followed.

“The brainy, Fox.”

Fox’s hand left mine as she pranced down the stairs. Leaving me alone at the top of the staircase. 

I looked over the crowd that had formed in the common room. There were many familiar faces in the crowd. I saw the marauders off in the corner. A girl was sat upon Sirius’ lap. I didn’t let my gaze rest on them for long. 

I put up my shield, a smirk. And an air of confidence. Not letting anyone in. No one can affect me without my consent. I wouldn’t let anyone have a big effect on me ever again. Never again.

“And finally,” I looked down at Razel. Her eyes shining confidently. As the four of them held hands. “We have Lithe,” Her smile widened as she said my name.   
As I descended the staircase, Fox held out her hand as I approached her. Her kind smile reassuring me that everything will be alright.

“We are the Ladies of Leisure,” Kat said smiling. 

“And we are not to be messed with,” Fox continued.

Once again I found my eyes trailing over to the marauders. The same blonde girl was sitting in Sirius’ lap but, all of his attention was on me. 

I smiled at him, giving him a broad smirk. 

If he wanted to be friends, then I would be the best friend that he’s ever had.  
_____________________  
Word Count: 1758  
August 3, 2020


	22. Winning

James was the first to run forward. The others quickly followed behind him. 

“Grayson Euphemia Potter,” James scolded, his eyes glaring at me. “What the bloody hell are you wearing?”

“My uniform?” I reply skeptically. “And James, I prefer Lithe.”

“Well, then Lithe,” His eyes held the harsh gaze. “Why is your skirt so bloody short?”

“James, my dear brother,” I smiled at him and patted his cheek in a sympathetic gesture. “My skirt is not that short.”

“Yes, it is,” James argued. “Right Sirius? Remus? Peter?”

“Yea, sure,” Peter responded quickly.

“Prongs, don’t be so dramatic,” Sirius replied, a grin plastered to his face. “I strongly disagree. I think Grays-” Sirius stopped himself. “I’m sorry, Lithe’s skirt is not short enough,” He turned to me with the same smirk that he had always worn. “Need any help shortening it, Love?”

Love? Not Sunshine? That hurt me more than I care to admit.

“In your dreams,” I scoff rolling my eyes.

“Oh, definitely,” Sirius replied, his eyes flickering over my figure. “You, my dear, are most certainly in all of my dreams. Want to make them come true?”

Sirius’ eyes remained on my face. A smirk played on his lips. His eyes grew darker as he stepped closer. His hand reached out. As if he wanted to grab me. I was transfixed in place by his stare. My confidence was fading fast as his eyes pierced through my shield. Before my shield could shatter further James grabbed Sirius, pulling him away from me.

“Oi!” James scolded, smacking his arm. “Padfoot, I hope you realize that that’s my bloody sister you’re talking about.”

“Yea,” Kat replied. “Stop being a major creep. Lithe,” She said with emphasis, her eyes shooting daggers at Sirius. “Isn’t interested in you.”

“Is that really true?” Sirius asked looking from Vixen to James. “I bet I’m the only one on her mind.”

“Conceited much?” I chuckled, trying my hardest to regain the hardened composure. 

But my composure was crumbling as fast as I could say, Sirius Orion Black. Hmm. His initials are S.O.B. How fitting. As if predicted from birth. 

“Is it true?” Sirius asked pushing past James and coming close to me. Though we were close, he still kept his distance, not reaching for me as he once would. “Am I on that pretty little mind of yours?” He glanced back to my brother with a smirk playing on his lips before turning back to me. “I bet your brother would just love to hear all of the thoughts you have of me that float through that pretty little head of yours.”

“I’m glad to report,” I said looking over to James. “No such things travel through my thoughts,” I look over to Remus then back to Sirius. “Remus though,” I close my eyes and breathe a heavy sigh. “Now that’s who really consumes my every waking moment.”

Even as I said the words, I felt empty as I looked into his eyes. There was a flicker of emotion that crossed his eyes. I knew that my words had struck its target. 

I knew that I needed to get out of here. My chest felt tight. My hands were numb. I could feel the weight of my body. It was as if there was a crushing weight on my shoulders.

“Let’s go,” I mutter to the girls. 

I tore my gaze away from Sirius. I was not going to break down. Not when I was supposed to be strong. Untouchable. I took a deep breath and held my head high as I made my way out of the common room. I kept my eyes glued to the door even though I could feel the gaze of so many others on me. 

“It’s alright,” Marlene whispered in my ear as we made our way out of the door. “Keep walking you’re doing fine.”

Marlene kept telling me soothing words as we left the common room. My vision started to grow blurry the further away that I walked. Seeing him unfazed and shamelessly flirting his way through every situation hurt me. He acted as if I was just another method of which he could use to annoy James. As if I was just another girl at his disposal.

Also, since when did James care what I wore? It wasn’t like I was wearing anything inappropriate. I’m wearing a skirt for crying out loud. It’s not like I’m not wearing biker shorts underneath. I always wear shorts underneath skirts and dresses. It felt almost wrong not to. Like I was exposed.

Marlene led me down a series of hallways, similar to how Trevor had done a few nights ago. It seemed like this castle was a never-ending hallway. Like we were always walking down the same corridor over and over. I didn’t know how I was ever going to figure out how to make my way around. We came to a stop near a bench. 

“Here come sit down,” She said. “We’re alone. Lily, Nina and Kat are dealing with everything. Are you ok?”

“I, uh, I, uh, d-don't-don’t wan-want t-t-to ruin the make-makeup,” I stutter. I hadn’t realized how bad I was shaking until now. The cold wasn’t even a factor, I was dressed warmly in three layers.

“You don’t need to worry about your makeup,” Marlene laughed. Her smile made me feel a lot better. It was like sunshine. “I have more in my bag if you need it. Just breathe. You haven’t seen Sirius since you were in the infirmary. You handled it really well. You should’ve seen the way he watched you as you walked away. I don’t think I could’ve done the same. You know, if I was in your shoes.”  
“As if,” I sniffled. Marlene pulled out a tissue from her bag and handed it to me. “You dazzle the room without even trying.”

“As do you,” Marlene said with a smile. 

“Not like you,” I replied shaking my head at her. 

I stared into her blue eyes. She did a really good job on her smoky eye. It really drew in your gaze. Though her makeup made her look tough but with the way she was looking at me, I could see past her tough exterior. I could see past the fun, party girl and see the side of her that was sincere and cared about the people around her.

“Hey,” Marlene grabbed my hand. Her tanned arm contrasting with my pale complexion. “Don’t sell yourself short. When you and Sirius were arguing, you both had the room looking at you. No one could pull their eyes away. When you walked out, they all turned to watch you leave. I think I caught a couple checking out your ass.”

“Really?” 

I could feel my cheeks heat up. Not 

“I mean,” She chucked. “It’s a nice view.”

“Shut up,” I laugh, hitting her arm.

“Here, let me fix you up.”

Marlene pulled out a small pencil case. Upon opening it, I realized that it was a makeup bag. She pulled out a makeup wipe and wiped away the tears under my eyes. The cool towelette felt nice in contrast to where my hot tears once poured from my eyes. 

“Luckily your eyeshadow stayed pretty intact,” She pulled out a small square of eyeshadow and a fluffy brush. “I’m just going to touch it up a bit.” Her brush fluttered across my eyelid. “Now look up,” She pulled out some mascara, reapplying it to my lashes. “And finally, we’ll freshen up your lip-gloss, and voila! Good as new.”

“Thank you.”

I get up from the bench, pulling my satchel on my shoulder.

“It’s not a problem.”

Marlene loops her arm through mine as we make our way down the hall. She leads us over to the great hall. I’m sure that Vixen had no problem introducing the three of them in our absence. 

As we walk into the dining hall, arms linked together, the crowd turns to us. Vixen was standing on the table. We were in the middle of her introduction.

“And finally,” Vixen announces, her arm outstretched towards me. “We have Razel,” In Razel fashion, she does a twirl as she struts towards our table. “And Lithe.”

As I walk over to the table I make sure to keep my head held high. A smirk stayed on my face as if it were painted there. A couple wolf whistles sounded at the table. I winked in the general direction of where they came from. 

I could hear Remus laughing loudly. His laugh seemingly got louder as I sat down next to Razel and Fox. Peering over, I saw two very unhappy boys next to her. Peter stayed quiet as he anxiously glanced from each boy and then over to where I sat.

“Got a problem, my dear brother?” I ask, venom lightly laced in my words. 

His glare was toned down. Well, at least from what I expected it to be. James never is very happy when I get male attention. 

“Yes,” James mumbled through gritted teeth. “I do.”

“And what would your problem be?” I smirked. 

Our little argument was attracting other students. Some turned in their seats to get a better look at us, while some stood around as if they were just casually having a conversation. Though their eyes were glued to us.

“Maybe,” James spat. “You shouldn’t be flaunting yourself so much.”

“Excuse me?” I gasped.

“Did you not hear me?” James replied.

“Since when do you have the right to tell me what to wear?” My eyebrows were furrowed as I glared over at my obnoxious brother. “I can flaunt,” I say with emphasis. “Myself if I so choose to do so.”

“Well you look like a slag,” James muttered.  
My mouth fell open. What gave him the right to say that? He was my brother. What in the bloody hell came over him?

“How dare you?” I spat.

My glare tore through him. If it could kill, he would be long gone.

“Yea,” Sirius added, leaning over the table, I couldn’t see his face but I could imagine the scowl. The stormy grey that his eyes would turn. “You look as if you belong on a corner in a shady part of London.”

“Sirius!” Remus hissed.

Wow. Remus was the one to come to my defence.

A couple chuckles were heard from the table. 

I clenched my jaw. My eyes hardened as I glared at both of the foolish boys. 

They will not hurt me. Their words can no longer affect me. I will defend myself and that will be it.

“Excuse you?” Razel started, her fists pounding on the table as she raised herself from her seat. She looked as if she was ready to launch herself over Fox and I to attack the boys.

“I got this,” I say raising a hand to let her know that this was a fight that I needed to fight. That it wasn’t her battle. “Really Sirius?” I ask, tilting my head to the side. I twirled the end of my ponytail in one hand. “I mean you were the one asking if I needed help shortening it earlier,” The crowd gasped. “ And anyway, you’re one to talk. To be honest, I didn’t think you’d even notice. I mean with all the girls that you, uh,” I paused pretending to search for the word. “Spend time with,” I looked over to Kat with an eye roll. “I thought that my entire gender would just blur together.”

“You know that’s not true,” Sirius hissed quietly.

“Oh,” I reply, dropping the ends of my hair. My hands to the table, one holding my head up as it rests in the palm of my hand. I shot the poor girl who sat beside Sirius a sad look. I felt bad for her being in the crossfire of this. Probably fooled by his sparkling eyes and sharp wit. I then proceeded my speech, a little louder for dramatic effect. “Right. You told me that you wanted to explore other,” I paused looking back over to Sirius. “Options. But,” I made a little pout on my lips, although glee was clearly displayed on my face. “You said that your heart would always belong to me.”

I smiled widely as Sirius flustered. His cheeks became red, his mouth fell open. I didn’t have to wait long before hearing my brother respond.

“He what?” James gasped turning to Sirius. “That is NOT what you told us.”

“Prongs, please, she’s just trying to get a rise out of us,” Sirius muttered, his gaze was low to the floor. 

“Oh, but that’s not all,” I replied as more and more students surrounded us. “Sirius told me that once he had captured my heart that we could be together,” I smirked as my eyes lazily met Sirius’. “And well, as if that could ever happen,” Sirius’ jaw clenched. “I mean, why would I love you? You’re like a brother to me.”

I knew that the last point was a low blow. I also knew that it wasn’t true. Just some words thrown in the heat of the moment, knowing that damage would be done.

“Let’s eat,” I smiled turning to the girls. 

I didn’t have to look over to know that the marauders had left the dining hall. Hearing Sirius stomp away was an amazing sound that I would cherish in my mind for a long time. If he wanted to play dirty, that’s exactly what I’d do.

Lithe: 1 Sirius:0

______________  
Word Count: 2264

August 10, 2020


	23. Marlene

Before I knew it, it was time for Quidditch. This was our last practice before our first game. Our first game against the Hufflepuffs is on Saturday giving us this last practice to prepare. Not that we needed it. Their team wasn’t nearly as good. The Slytherin’s were more of a challenge, their determinative nature made them really fun to play against. The Ravenclaws were also pretty difficult, they used a lot of strategy to win. Not that we didn’t use strategy but they tended to spy on other games and find each players weakness. Well, at least that’s what James and Sirius had told me.

I stood next to Marlene, or rather Razel, as Philip Jennings went over what we’d be doing during practice. At times like this, I wished that Razel played beater. Or that I played chaser. Or that Sirius wasn’t on the team. But alas, here we are. Both on the team.

Today we were also going to be playing with some of the students who didn’t make the team. We had a bunch of back up players, in case of injury. 

“Alright,” Jennings started. “For our last practice, we will have a scrimmage.”

Cheers flooded the small crowd of students. 

“Marlene, I’m sorry, Razel and James will be choosing the teams,” Jennings stated. “And,” He paused looking between the both of them. “Razel will go first.”

“Why does Razel,” James said with air quotes. “Get to go first?” He whined, jutting out his bottom lip as if he were a small child.

“Maybe because I’m better than you,” Razel replied with a smirk.

“As if,” Sirius scoffed.

Razel rolled her eyes before joining James in front of the crowd of players.

“Well, I’m obviously choosing Lithe,” Razel stated with a grin. 

I strut over next to her, linking out arms together. We were a good team. Our game strategy was always the same as each other. We could practically communicate without talking. Almost like Sirius and me. 

“I pick Sirius,” James grinned as his best mate joined his side.

This continued for a while longer. I ended up zoning out. I wasn’t too concerned with who I would play with, I was more concerned with how to avoid my brother and his arse of a best friend. I wondered if I could knock some sense into him by sending a bludger his way. I mean, accidentally, of course.

I looked over to the stands to see that the other Ladies of Leisure were sitting in on our scrimmage. Foxy had draped a flag that read “Let’s go #9!” and “Lithe is armed and dangerous!” with a photo of me winking in the middle of the two. I dressed in my quidditch uniform. Actually, Vixen created the new flags at lunch with the help of Muse.

Next to my banner was a big red banner for Razel. It read “Raising Hell on the pitch since ‘72” and “#13 is my wife <3”. Accompanying those sayings was a big picture of Razel laughing as she sticks out her tongue.

“Our team name will be Griffin’s,” Marlene announced to Professor McGonagall, who was refereeing the match. 

“Well-well our name will be,” James paused, trying to come up with a name on the spot.

“The Dore’s,” Sirius blurted enthusiastically.

“Yea, yea,” James nodded. “We’ll be the Dore’s.”

I could see the disappointment on their teams’ faces. This proving further that Moony would’ve been the one to so eloquently choose Marauders as their name. They really have set out a mission to prove that they are two halves of a whole idiot.

“Alright,” McGonagall said with a sigh. “We’ll have the Griffin’s,” She gestured towards our team. “Against the Dore’s.”

I looked over to the crowd that had gathered in the stands and noticed a few different colours scattered throughout the stands. Particularly a certain redhaired boy accompanied by two blond friends. One who I wasn’t particularly excited to see. Trevor.

“Ready to play Lithe,” Thomas O’Malley asked. His dark eyes staring into my soul.

I hadn’t spoken to him since the whole ordeal with Trevor. Did Thomas know what happened? Was he also a supporter of the Dark Lord? Whomever that may be. I forgot to ask about that. I’ll have to ask Lily about that later.

“Always,” I smirk, pushing my shoulders back.

“Let’s go kick some ass,” Thomas said raising his broom, taping the end against my own.

I laughed as we made our way to the center field. Though Thomas had made a horrid first impression he was a decent fellow. The type of friend to bully you relentlessly to show his love.

“My lady,” Thomas said dropping to one knee, holding up the beaters bat as if he was giving a sword to a queen. Like he was about to be knighted.

“Why thank you,” I replied curtsying after I take it out of his hand.

“Mount your brooms,” McGonagall shouted, holding a quaffle high in her hand.

I sat back on my broom, holding my bat tightly in my right hand. I kept my eyes on the bludger’s that were fighting to be set free from their snug holding cell. As McGonagall’s whistle blew, I did the ceremonial twirl of my bat before watching the bludger’s being set loose.

Darting towards the stands, I whack a bludger sending it towards my darling brother who had the quaffle. 

“Thanks,” A deep voice says from behind me. Trevor.

Maybe I should’ve let him get hit.

Giving him a tight smile, I fly back into action. 

“Woah!” I hear James yell as he rocks on his broom. 

The bludger had hit his arm. Luckily it was the one that was holding the quaffle giving Razel the chance to steal it.

I watched Razel, glancing quickly at her surroundings to see if any bludgers were coming her way. I spied Sirius. He was getting ready to hit one her way. By the look of it, it was going to knock her off her broom. Quickly, I flew next to her, getting ready to intersect it. Mentally, prepared myself for how much pushback I was going to have to put into hitting Sirius’ bludger. 

The impact of the bludger against my back almost made me fly off of my broom. With both hands holding my bat the bludger was redirected. I managed to keep my stance as I sent it back to where Sirius was. His head was facing the other direction, not realizing that his hit ended up being a miss. A common mistake. 

“Bloody hell,” Sirius gasped as it hit him in the gut sending him back several feet.

His eyes were wide as he turned towards me. I shot him a wink as I twirled my bat in one hand before turning my attention back to the game.

Razel avoided another bludger by spinning on the broom before scoring. I had no clue how she could do that so quickly without losing the quaffle. And being able to score. If I did that I would’ve dropped the quaffle and fallen off of my broom.

“Bloody hell,” I gasp as our team’s seeker raced in front of me as she pursued the snitch.

“Was thinking the same thing when you hit me with the bludger,” A voice from beside me grumbled. 

I didn’t have to look over to know who it was. 

“What the bloody hell was that?” He exclaimed. “I mean, I know we’re in a game but that could’ve killed me?” He paused, racing towards me with his bat raised. 

I braced myself, raising my bat up to defend myself. I mean, I didn’t think he was going to beat me with a bat but you never know.

Sirius wizzes around me hitting a bludger that was aimed at me. He paid no attention to where it was going other than away from us.

“Look,” Sirius sighed. “I get that you’re hurt and this situation isn’t ideal but I want to stay friends through this. It kills me to know that you’re upset with me.”

“Obviously not,” I roll my eyes.

“What?” Sirius asked.

“If it killed you that I was upset with you then you’d be dead,” I mutter. 

“Very funny.”

“You know,” I reply. “For someone who wants my forgiveness, you have a weird way of showing it.”

“What do you mean?” Sirius cocked his head to the side.

“Well, for one, calling me a slag.”

“Right,” His face dropped. “But that was a joke.”

“Yea, very funny,” I roll my eyes.

“Lithe!” Thomas called out. “Am I the only one playing here?”

“Sorry!” I call back before chasing after a bludger.

The match only lasted another 3 minutes before Gracie, our team's seeker caught the snitch giving the Griffin’s the win. It was a good thing that Gracie was on our house team, she’s very fast. 

We fly down to the pitch, all of us surrounding McGonagall. James and Sirius took the honour of catching the bludgers to put them back in their spot in the box. 

The spectators flooded the pitch. A certain blond-haired Slytherin made his way over to me.

“So, Grayson-”

“Hey,” Razel yelled as she marches over to us. “She’s mine.”

Razel proceeded to wrap her arm around my waist. She carefully tucks my head safely into the crook of her neck as she roughly pats the side of my face with her other hand. 

“Here that boys,” Razel announced to all of the people around us. “Grayson Lithe Potter is mine. There’s nothing you can do about it.”

“Isn’t she dating Sirius?” Jennings asked.

“No,” Michael protested. “She was dating Trevor.”

Who knew this was more important than quidditch?

“Of course not,” Razel scoffed. “Sirius is a bloody idiot who didn’t know what he had until he lost her. She deserves someone much better than that clown,” She said jutting her chin out towards Sirius. “And Trevor almost got her killed, she was in the hospital for like a week.”

The team turned towards Sirius, as he met Razel’s glare. 

“Thought we were friends Marly?” He asked, a smirk plastered on his face but his eyes held onto a deadly glare.

“All you ever did was whine about Grayson and how you couldn’t have her,” Razel spat. Her grip on my waist tightened. 

I traced small circles on her back to help her keep her from lashing out. I hid my face in her neck. I didn’t want to see everyone’s eyes on us. I wasn’t strong enough to do it again. Three times a day is too much for me.

Marlene pushed me away. Pushing past Trevor and walking over to Sirius, getting really close. Though she kept her voice raised so that the rest of us could hear.

“And when you finally got the chance you blew it big time. You need to understand that I am not just your friend, Sirius. Lithe, Gray, is also my friend. When you would leave me without explanation to go hang out with the Marauders, Grayson would keep me company. Sure,” Marlene shrugged. “I’ve only just recently started to truly be friends with Grayson but she always made me feel included. When Grayson and Lily would have a girl’s night, they would always ask the rest of us if we’d like to join. Unlike you, my so-called friend.”

“Marly I’m sorry. I didn’t know you felt that way,” Sirius muttered.

“All you ever wanted to do was talk about Grayson.”

“But you never told me-”

“Of course, I never told you,” Marlene cried, emotion flooding her voice. “Because I wanted to. I also wanted to talk about Grayson.”

“What?” Sirius asked, his head tilting to the side.

“I wanted to talk about Grayson. About how pretty her eyes are, the way that they sparkle when she starts to talk about divinations. YOU,” She said with emphasis. “Made that sparkle dull. You hurt her. And I had to pick up the pieces. When you threw her away because she didn’t remember, I helped her embrace it, helped her grow into a new person. A new Grayson. Lithe. While you-you,” She straightened her posture, her voice changing. As if she cut off her emotion. “While you wished she were the old her and continuously flirted with other girls when you claimed that your heart belonged to her,” As she said those last words she poked his chest with each syllable. “You don’t deserve her.”

___________________  
Word Count: 2084  
August 17, 2020


	24. Beat the Rich

My jaw dropped. I had no idea that Marlene had felt that way. Does she still feel that way for me? Do I have feelings for her?

I thought back to all of my memories with Marlene. Every time that she would style my hair, every time that she was there for me as a shoulder to cry for. I had never considered it more than a friendly gesture. Was it all because she had feelings for me? I couldn’t deny that the thought of her and I brought butterflies to my stomach. Though, I had never considered being with a girl before. And Marlene and I certainly do fight less than Sirius and I. 

I hadn’t even considered anyone other than Sirius. I mean, even with Trevor, I was still yearning for Sirius to admit his feelings for me. But, Marlene has always been by my side. When I was unable to go to class due to injury and had to rest in the dorm, she would stay with me. The only time that she would leave my side was to go and fetch us food to eat. At the end of the day, when Lily, Kat and Nina came back from class, we would both catch up with the notes that Lily would bring us. 

Every time that she would look at me, her eyes were bright blue, full of mischief. When she was thinking, you could practically see the wheels turning in her head. She always looked incredible. She didn’t need to wear makeup, although she was phenomenal at applying it. I couldn’t think of a single thing that she wasn’t perfect at. Even her voice was heavenly.

But was I confusing thoughts of love and wanting to be with her for friendship?

What was the difference between friendship and a relationship? Where was the line drawn?

“I’m sorry,” Marlene mumbled. She looked back at me but turned away before I could distinguish the look that crossed her face. “I should-shouldn’t have said anything.”

Marlene went to push past Sirius but he grabbed her arm. A look of fright crossed her expression as she turned back towards Sirius. I stepped forward, readying myself to intervene if necessary.

There was no way that I’d let Sirius hurt her. I wouldn’t let anyone hurt her. She was one of my best friends and I’d be damned if something happened to her.

From my peripheral, I saw Fox, Vixen and Muse step forward as well. Each wearing a cautious expression. 

“You have no reason to be sorry,” Sirius said, a gentle smile graced his features. “I’m the one who should be sorry,” Sirius pulled her in, wrapping his long arms around her. 

I couldn’t hear what Sirius was saying but Marlene laughed. Her voice ringing through the air like a little bell.

“You’re gay?” Kat asked. Her voice rang out through the air. Her hair was styled into two balls of curls on top of her head.

“Yea,” Marlene said looking over to her. 

“Nice,” Kat smirked. She held her hand out to her.

Marlene grabbed her hand. Kat pulled Marlene into a bone-crushing hug. Lily and Nina joined the hug shortly after. I ran overthrowing my arms around the group of girls. We all stayed together in our group huddle.

“All right,” McGonagall said. “It’s past curfew. Get yourselves to bed.”

“Yes, Professor,” I smiled. 

I linked my arms with Marlene and Nina. Lily and Kat linked their arms on the other side of Marlene. Though once we got back to the castle we separated. Kat, Nina and Marlene walked ahead of Lily and I. We walked back to our dorms in a comfortable silence. 

Since it was a Wednesday we had astronomy in a couple hours, so I had to change and shower quickly.

Lily said the password to the door and we strolled back inside the common room. Once we arrived in our dorm room, Marlene let out a big sigh. She dashed over to her bed before flopping down.

“Are you ok?” Lily asked.

“Yea,” Marlene responded. “I mean, I wasn’t expecting to come out to everyone today. Well, not that I was trying to hide it but, I never thought that I needed to formally come out.”

I nodded, walking over to where I put my uniform from earlier.

“I’m going to go shower,” I said, heading to the washroom.

“Wait,” Marlene shouted. “Can I have a quick chat with you?”

“Yea,” I reply, nodding my head. “Of course.”

We both walked into the washroom. I set my clothes on the counter and grabbed a towel from the cabinet.

“I, uh, I just wanted to make sure that-that things are ok between us,” Marlene stuttered. She wouldn’t meet my eye. Her gaze stayed on the floor.

“What?” I asked. “Why wouldn’t things be ok between us?”

Her cheeks reddened at my question. She ran her hand through her hair. Her hand easily went through the gel that she had applied earlier this morning. Her makeup had been washed off since practice.

“I, well, I just wanted to make sure that we are still friends,” Marlene stammered. “I wanted to make sure that you weren’t scared off by what I said. I mean, I said that I liked you. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“That doesn’t make me uncomfortable.”

“Really?” Her head shot up. Her eyes were wide.

“Yea,” I smiled. “Why would I be uncomfortable? I mean, I didn’t know that you felt this way about me. But, that doesn’t change our relationship.”

“Oh.”

“Did you want that to change our relationship?”

Marlene gasped. Her eyes were wide, her soft lips were ever so slightly parted.

“What-what about Sirius?” Her eyebrows knit in confusion.

“Look,” I sigh. “I don’t know about Sirius. I don’t know about anything. I never really thought about being in a relationship with anyone else. I-I mean, even with Trevor, I was thinking of Sirius. But,” I looked into Marlene’s eyes. “I’d never even considered that liking girls was an option. I mean I’ve never experienced anything with anybody so who’s to say what my preferences are. I guess I’m still exploring my sexuality.”

“Oh?” Marlene looked a little confused.

My rambling might have gone a little off. I probably confused her.

“Ok,” I took a deep breath. “I need to take things slow. I’ve been thrown into this and have had many expectations thrown on to me. So, if I were to pursue a future relationship,” Her eyes seemed to sparkle with happiness. “I’d want to take things slow.”

“Yea,” Marlene nodded. “That makes sense. I’d never want to rush you. Or, push you into anything you wouldn’t want to be in.”

“Alright,” I smiled at her. “I’m gonna take a shower.”

“Ok,” She smiled as she left the room.

As I took my shower I thought of everything that Marlene and I had talked about. Did I want to take Marlene? She was undeniably beautiful. She was very passionate. Whenever I had a problem she would listen to me rant. She never tried to solve my problems for me, rather she helped me come to a sensible solution. She was one of the kindest people I have ever met. 

Would things change between us? Would I need to come up with cute dates for us? How much money would I need to spend if we were dating? 

The hot water pounded against my back as these thoughts clouded my mind. The scent of my perfumed body wash filling the air as I washed the sweat and grime from the practice today. I couldn’t believe that Trevor was there. Why does he want to talk to me? Did he want to finish the job and kill me? 

What if he wanted to convert me to his lord? Probably not. He seemed sinister.

He wanted me to marry him to make pure children. I feel like I need to talk about this. That it was wrong.

I threw my hair up into a towel and changed into my uniform.

“Hey, guys?” I asked the room. 

Marlene and Lily were laying on Lily’s bed doing homework. Nina had out a book and was reading. Kat was sketching on her bed. They all turned to me when I spoke.

“Who is the dark lord?”

“What?” Lily asked, her eyebrows shot up.

“Why?” Marlene and Kat asked at the same time.

Nina stayed silent; her eyes darted away.

“Before Severus attacked me in the hallway with Trevor, Trevor brought up how he wanted me to come and serve the dark lord with him. I was a little concerned with a name like dark lord,” I replied, shrugging my shoulders.

“Oh my god,” Kat gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.

“I can’t believe that,” Marlene mumbled shaking her head.

“What? Why?” I asked.

“The dark lord is really bad,” Lily said. “He is a dark wizard who wants to take over the world.”

“Oh my god,” I gasped.

“Wait so Trevor is with the dark lord?” Marlene asked.  
“Yea, he was trying to recruit me,” I said as I walked over to my bed and jumped in it. “He was saying that he wanted to marry me and have pure children,” I shook my head. “Whatever that means.”

“Pure?” Lily asked, tilting her head.

“Oh my god,” Kat muttered. 

“He means pure-blood.” Marlene rolled her eyes. “He wants to make pure babies with you.”

“How can I make pure babies?” I asked. 

This made no sense.

“You come from a long line of wizards,” Marlene explained. “Your family is one of the oldest families in the magical universe. You don’t have any non-magical blood in your veins.”

“Why does that matter?” I asked.

“Well,” Kat sighed. “Some families believe that people without magic in their families don’t deserve to be wizards.”

“Total bullocks if you ask me,” Marlene said.

“I’m a muggle-born,” Lily announced.

“Oh,” I nodded. 

All of this information was swirling around in my brain. None of it was taking hold in my brain.

“It’s a stupid way for rich families to discriminate the magical world,” Marlene explained.

“Oh,” I nodded. Everything finally clicking in my head. “That’s stupid. He also used an unfamiliar word.”

“What word?” Lily asked cautiously.

“I mean, given the context, I don’t think it was a nice word,” I reply.

“Did he say mudblood?” Lily asked.

“Yes,” I replied looking over to Lily. “What does that mean?”

“It’s a discriminatory word. Meaning that I am not pure. That I do not come from a magical family,” Lily explained.   
I felt terrible. Why do people feel the need to discriminate? What does it matter if someone comes from a magical family or not? It would already be hard enough when that student is being thrown into an unfamiliar situation. They’re coming into a whole new world on their own, they need as many allies as they can to help them navigate this strange, magical world.

“Lily,” I said sitting up. “If anyone dares to try and hurt you with that word, I will end them. Like I know that you can take care of yourself, but still, I will end them.”

“Thanks,” Lily laughed.

“Yea, let's beat the rich,” Marlene joined. 

“I’m down to punch someone out,” Kat laughed.

“Alright,” Lily said. “I need to finish up some work before astronomy. Gray, you should probably get some work done too.”  
______________________

Word Count: 1914

August 24, 2020


	25. Confusion

Walking into Astronomy, arm in arm, we made our way to our regular seating. This meant that I was stuck with Trevor. For three hours. This was going to be painfully long.

“Are you sure that you don’t want me to sit with you?” Marlene asked for what seemed like the millionth time. 

I knew that she was worried about me but I can handle myself. Plus, what was he going to do in a crowded classroom? 

I made my way to the back of the room. Trevor was already sat at our shared desk. 

“Grayson,” He breathed hopefully as I stood in front of the desk. 

I wasn’t sure what he was expecting me to do. I calmly made my way to my seat next to him.

“Trevor,” I replied, my eyes were glued to the front of the classroom.

“Look-”

He was cut off by our teacher entering the classroom. Aurora Sinastra. She walked into the room; her presence drew us in like a beacon. She was quite the character. 

“Good evening class,” A huge grin played on her lips. “Today we will be talking about the constellations.”

“We’ve already done this,” Robert muttered from in front of me. 

He turned back, facing Trevor and I. His eyes scanned over me curiously. A smirk played at his lips.

Next to him, Thomas turned a few seconds after Robert had. 

“Glad to see you haven’t decided to leave us yet,” Thomas said, shooting me a wink.

I ignored them as I kept my eyes on the front of the class. I watched as Professor Sinastra went on about how the constellations were linked with mythology and how learning the mythology would help to memorize the constellations. 

“Come on Lithe,” Robert pleaded. “It wasn’t Trevor’s fault you got blasted by Severus. We all know that it was directed at Black.”

It was. Severus Snape was aiming at Sirius. When Sirius dived out of the way, I was caught in the cross-fire. Snape stepped in after Sirius sent a spell at Trevor, causing him to puke slugs. That was after Trevor was grabbing my arm and trying to convince me to join his cult.

My hand trailed over the scar on my stomach, remembering all of the pain that those boys had caused. My eyes stayed glued to the whiteboard.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a couple of dark-haired boys turn their attention towards us. There was also a blonde-haired girl whose blue-eyes were staring into my own. But the only person in the room I paid attention to was Professor Sinastra. I scribbled down the points that she was saying, keeping track of which constellations she mentioned. Though that task was hard with all of the distractions around me. 

I thought that it would be best to ignore everyone. 

“Yea,” Thomas added. “If it wasn’t for Black picking a fight with Trevor you’d be fine.” 

“Stop,” Trevor muttered.

I clenched my jaw. 

He didn’t tell them the truth. They both thought that Sirius was the one to initiate. While technically he was, Trevor was the one who was grabbed onto my arm. It caused bruises. They were the first thing to heal. Sirius had stepped in to protect me. He was the one protecting me from Trevor’s weird outburst.

“What?” Thomas pestered. “Wait,” He grinned widely. “Is she into that type of thing? Lithe are you into boys fighting over you? Do you love the feeling of having power over multiple boys?”

“Seriously,” Trevor hissed. “Stop it.”

Oh, so now he wanted to protect me. After all he had done. This guy had so many personalities it was hard to keep track. One minute he was trying to protect me, the next minute he was trying to convert me to his weird cult.

“What?” Robert laughed. “Does your girlfriend not like being teased?”

Snap.

I felt a wet liquid drip down my hand. I looked down to see black ink spattered across my hand and notebook. The ink was soaking into the page of my notebook. Great.

“Bloody hell,” I gasp as I picked up my notebook.

Luckily the ink spilt on the side of my notebook with blank pages so that my previous work was not affected. 

“Ms. Potter?” Professor Sinastra asked. “Is everything all right?”

Shit.

“Yea-yea,” I grumbled. “I just had a mishap with my muggle fountain pen. May I be excused to wash up?” 

“Oh dear,” She gasped as she moved closer. “Of course. I’ll clean all of this up,” She said motioning to the mess on the table. “Go get yourself cleaned up.”

I nodded. Without a word, I stood up and quickly made my way out of the classroom. The black ink from my hand dripped down my arm, I could feel it soaking into my robe.

That was going to suck to clean up. I hoped there was a spell for that.

I made my way down the hall to the bathroom on this floor. The bathroom was empty when I walked in. No students. No teachers. No ghosts.

With my elbows, I turned on the faucet. I stuck my hands in the water watching as the dark water pooled in the bottom of the sink. The ink swirled down the drain, my hands becoming less and less prominently stained with black ink. 

I sighed.

I pumped soap into my hand from the dispenser. As I rubbed my hands together, black bubbles surfaced. The bubbles coated my hands quickly.

I thought to the inky black hair of Sirius Black. How his hair made him look as if he jumped out of a black and white picture. The most colorful thing about him was his Gryffindor robes. The red-suited him nicely. Though he looked marvellous in almost every color that he wore. When he wore emerald green. He looked gorgeous. The range of colors this boy could wear made me jealous. He looked so good in everything; it was entirely unfair.

No. No boys. 

What about Marlene? How do I feel about her? Did I want to pursue a relationship with her? Or was I creating this relationship to mask my feelings about Sirius?

My heartbeat drummed in my ears. I felt myself gasping for air. I shut my eyes tightly. I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror any longer.

Why was everything happening? I felt as if no one understood what I was going through. Even though they understood everything going on probably better than I did. 

I wanted to change. I wanted to do something drastic. I wanted to change my appearance. 

I want- 

I wanted-

Red hair. 

Yes! Red hair is exactly what I need. That would be a big enough change. How though? I wonder if the colour changing spell would work on hair. I mean it worked on a feather. And, a feather is kind of like hair.

I dried my hands with some paper towel then I took out my wand. 

What if I messed up? Could this make me go bald? What if I did something unfixable? Something that killed me. 

As I said the incantation I thought of the color red, closing my eyes to truly picture the color of which I wanted my hair to be. The color of the dark red robes of Gryffindor, dark red roses and cherries. 

When I reopened my eyes, my hair was a dark shade of red. 

My smile grew as I looked into the mirror. My dark eyebrows complimented my dark hair, contrasting against my pale skin. The brown in my eyes complimented the red. I was in love with my new look.

I look a deep breath. My hands were dry and the majority of the ink was cleaned. It was time to go back to class.

As I returned to my seat, heads turned my way. The weird part was that they stayed on me until I returned to my seat. I guess my new hair made more of an impact than I thought. 

All eyes were on me but three. Two of them flickered over to me as I entered but soon returned to their work as if they were afraid of my reaction.

The three boys didn’t even bat an eye as I sat down. Trevor had his eyes glued on the board, where he was avidly taking notes. Thomas made no further teasing comment. Neither did Robert. The three of them didn’t say a word. Not to each other or me. It was eery. It wasn’t like them not to speak.

“Here,” Trevor said as he slid a piece of parchment my way. “The notes you missed.”

“Thank you,” I said as I opened my notebook and started to jot them down into my notebook.

Professor Sinastra had performed a spell to clean up all of the ink and remove it from my notebook. It left my notebook untouched as if it were brand new.

“Ok,” Professor Sinastra said. “For this project, you will be grouped, in groups of four. You will present to the class one of the different constellations that you all should know by now. For the last hour of class, you will all present to the class.”

Right constellations. I hoped that I could group up with some of the Ladies of Leisure. I didn’t want to be grouped with any of the marauders. Well, Remus wouldn’t be so bad. Peter was also one of the better options. I mean, my brother wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe it’s just Sirius that I didn’t want to work with.

To be fair, I also did not want to work with the three boys that surrounded me. They were annoying. Well, they’re pretty quiet now. How suspicious. Maybe Trevor told Thomas and Robert about how I knew that he was a death eater. Maybe they thought that if they were quiet I wouldn’t report them or whatever. Who knows? I’d have to talk to Headmaster Dumbledore about what to do later.

“You four will be a group,” I look over to see Professor Sinastra pointing at my desk along with the one in front of mine. 

I silently followed her to the front.

“Professor, is it possible to switch groups? Or maybe even present on my own?” I asked timidly. I knew what her answer was going to be. 

“Why would you want to change groups?” Professor Sinastra asked. She looked at me kindly. “I thought that the four of you were friends? Just last week the four of you were very amicable.”

I didn’t know how to tell her that I wasn’t comfortable working with people who were in a cult.

“I, uh, I just-”

“I’m sorry Ms. Potter but in life,” She said. Here we go, I’ve had this talk before. “You don’t always get to pick who you work with. So, I apologize but no, you are not allowed to change partners. But please, if they give you any trouble, don’t be afraid to come and tell me.”

“Thank you, Professor,” I sighed. I gave her a weak smile before turning around and walking back to my partners.

I looked over to Marlene and Lily who were paired up with Sirius and James. They both shot me a look of despair. Lily looked as if she wanted to shove the pen in her eye, while Marlene looked like she wanted to shove it in Sirius’ eye. Who was currently babbling on about who knows what? 

When Sirius looked over at me his mouth stopped moving, rather falling open as he looked at me. His eyes flickered over my face, then to my hair. It was like he was taking in my appearance, getting used to my face attached to red hair. A small smile played on his face. He quickly got up to come over to me. 

“Look at you Red,” Sirius smiled at me, throwing his arm around me. He shot me a big grin before pulling me closer as if he was hugging me. Well, he did hug me but he was using it as a cover to whisper in my ear. “Are you ok? If you are uncomfortable working with them I will gladly help you get out of it. I will annoy the bloody hell out of Professor Sinastra if I have to,” He chuckled, pulling back, looking me dead in the eyes. “I’m serious. I’ll do it.”

“Yes,” I nodded, a big grin on my face. “You are Sirius.”

“There’s my girl,” He chuckled, his face lighting up. “Look at you,” He grabbed a lock of my hair, twirling it in his fingers. “As much as I loved you as a brunette, re suits you. Good thing you’re a Gryffindor,” His hand trailed down, tracing my jawline. “Although, you’d look phenomenal in everything you wear.”

“Aww, Sirius,” I smiled, grabbing his hand, pulling it away from my face. “It’s almost like you have a heart.”

With a wink, I brush past him, joining my teammates. I sit down next to Trevor, watching Sirius compute what I had just said. 

“A woman after my own heart,” Sirius moaned, looking over at me. He drew a heart over his chest before pointing at me from where he stood. His eyes looked sultry and then blew me a kiss.

I laughed at this fool of a man. I can’t believe he would make this much of a scene in class. What an unbelievable human being.

“Glad you could join us,” Thomas said sarcastically, although his dark brown eyes did not meet mine. “We decided to work on the constellation Andromeda.” 

Andromeda? Sirius taught me that one. 

“The princess, who was saved by Perseus,” I said, nodding my head. 

“Exactly,” Trevor replied. “I was thinking that we could re-enact it for the class.”

“Re-enact it?” I asked, looking over at the boys.

“Yea,” Robert nodded. “It will be fun. You of course,” Robert looked over at me. It was the first time that he looked my way since I had left. “Will be Andromeda. Since the rest of the roles are smaller roles, we will each take a few. Thomas and I will be Cassiopeia and Cepheus. Lithe you can play Juno, Thomas will play Neptune, I will play Ammon, oracle of Jupiter and Trevor will play Perseus.”

“Ok,” I replied, nodding my head. “Now all we have to do is write the script.”

“Ok,” Trevor said. “That shouldn’t be too hard.”

It didn’t take us more than half an hour to complete our script. It wasn’t too hard to memorize. Knowing the story made it easier for me to know the lines. Sadly, we couldn’t make a big production out of it since we only had about an hour to put this together. For costumes, I had a big sign saying naked, for when I was to play Andromeda and then a paper crown for when I would play Juno. 

“A long time ago, in a land not so far away there lived a king and a queen. They lived in Ethiopia, with their daughter, the princess, Andromeda,” Trevor narrated. 

Robert and Thomas walked onto our play stage. Both were sporting crowns, their arms linked. Robert was portraying the queen, he waved daintily to the crowd. Thomas, who was playing the king, had his back straight and moved rather stiffly as he waived to the audience. 

“They lived with their daughter, the stunning princess, Andromeda,” Trevor continued. 

I walked out daintily. My arms were out beside me, bouncing with each step. I twirled and laughed as if I didn’t have a care in the world. Since I was playing a younger role this was acceptable. 

“Their mother was quite cocky,” Trevor said. Robert held his head high, looking flirtatiously towards the room. “Believing that she was the most beautiful person to ever exist.”

“I am more beautiful than anything in existence,” Robert said in a high-pitched voice. “I am more beautiful than the flowers, more beautiful than the moon, more beautiful than the sun, more beautiful than Juno, and even more beautiful than my daughter.”

I ran off stage to grab my crown, placing it on top of my head.

“Juno, the queen of the Roman gods, took great offence to her claims,” Trevor continued. 

“How dare some mortal claim to be more beautiful than I,” I spat, although I tried not to form wrinkles in my face. She was a god, she had to have grace. “Neptune,” I command looking over to Thomas, who was holding a trident made of paper. “You must destroy that foul woman. Make her pay for saying she’s more ravishing than I.”

“I will send out my most carnage inducing sea monster to wreak havoc at their coasts,” Thomas announced, holding his trident higher in his hand. 

Tomas ran back to change into his king outfit. Throwing away the trident, placing the crown on his head.

“My seas,” Thomas exclaimed as the king. “My coasts! I must consult Ammon. He is the oracle of Jupiter, the god of the skies. I must consult him to see how I can appease Neptune.”

“You have summoned me. Ammon, the oracle of Jupiter. What is it that you desire?” Robert says, staying very neutral. No emotion played on his face and he was very still. Only moving when he was speaking and even then it was very mechanical. As if he was some marionette.

“I desire to appease lord Poseidon,” Thomas said bowing. 

“To appease the lord of the seas, you must sacrifice a virgin, a child who has not yet become one with another. A child with astonishing beauty must be sacrificed to the lord of the seas will end your troubles.”

They both moved off the scene. Thomas grabbed my arm before dragging me over to a table, then laid me on it. He gently looped my wrists into the robe, our make-shift handcuffs, before walking off the stage. I had my sign taped on my shirt saying ‘naked’. Upon seeing this, a couple of the students howled. I heard Marlene wolf whistle. 

“Oi! That’s my sister you’re whistlin’ about,” James scolded the class.

After the class quieted down, we continued our presentation.

“He would sacrifice his beautiful, virgin daughter to the sea monster to save his kingdom. So, he chained Andromeda to a big rock on the coast and waited for her to be devoured by the beast.” Trevor moved from where he originally stood. He held his makeshift shield and sword in his hands, while also putting on his helmet, getting ready for his big break. 

“No,” I screamed. “Father, you cannot do this to me. Please don’t leave me here.”

“But her father was long gone,” Robert explained, taking over as Trevor gets into character. “Incomes Perseus, the defeater of the gorgon Medusa, son of Jupiter.” 

Trevor stood next to me. His hand coddled my face.

“What a beautiful maiden,” Trevor said, his voice was barely above a whisper, it was just enough for the class to hear him.

I was a little uncomfortable with how close he was. I knew he was evil. I mean, I was told how they were bad. Like that his lord wanted to take over the world, kill everyone who didn’t see things his way. 

“What are you doing here?” Trevor asked softly. “A beautiful maiden such as yourself should not be left alone, especially not in your state.”

“My father,” I breathed, as if I had been crying. “He chained me up and left me at the hands of the monster of the sea, to be sacrificed to bring peace to our land.”

“One as ravishing as yourself cannot possibly be dealt such a cruel fate,” His eyes stayed on mine as he said those words. There was something in his eyes that told me that those words held more meaning than what he was saying. That they applied to more than just this scenario that we were playing out. “I will save you from your cruel fate and you will be my wife. We will marry to save you from such a horrible fate. You will be mine.”

Those words echoed in my head. ‘Be mine’. The last time he said that to me, I was hit with a spell that could have killed me. I tensed my jaw.

There was a silence that fell upon the room. 

“And then, before Perseus had the chance to take off her chains, the sea monster attacked,” Robert continued. 

Thomas, wearing a mask, came onto the stage hissing and growling. Trevor jumped in front of me, his sword and shield raised. They fought viciously, though they were laughing and giggling with each fake attack. The rest of the class gasped and chanted ‘fight’ as they battled each other. Finally, the beast, Thomas, was vanquished and he fell to the ground dramatically. 

“And the beast was vanquished!” Robert announced, the class cheered. “Perseus grabbed his maiden and took her to her father, the king.”

Thomas crawled back to the side. It looked like he was flopping around. As he crawled over to the side, he grabbed his crown and bounced back to his feet. He threw his crown back on, returning to stage. 

As he was doing that, Trevor took off the robe that was posing as my shackles and carried me over to Thomas. 

“I have slain the sea beast! For that, I want your daughters’ hand,” Trevor proclaimed loudly.

“Boo!” Marlene shouted from the crowd. “She’s mine.”

A group of laughter rang through the air.

“Why yes, of course,” The king said, nodding his head. “You shall be married at once.”

“And they lived happily ever after,” Robert concluded. “The end.”

“Very well done!” Professor Sinastra applauded. “Above and beyond, that’s for sure. Well done, all four of you,” She turned to the class. “See, that’s a presentation that keeps the viewers listening and paying attention. Astounding. I can’t believe you guys threw that together in an hour.”

“Thank you, professor.” We all said, returning to our seats. 

As my eyes scanned across the crowd, I spotted Sirius and Marlene, they were both giving me a thumbs up.   
“What did you want to talk about?” I asked Trevor as Professor Sinastra dismissed the class. 

“Wha-what?” Thomas stuttered as he turned to walk out of class.

“Look,” I said not wanting to let this go. “You sounded dead set on telling me earlier. I just wanted to know what it was. I don’t want to join you and your weird little cult-”

“Weird little cult?” He asked confused.

“Yea, your cult that supports the dark lord,” I whispered. “Look, I don’t want to be a part of it and I think that you need help. You need to get out of that situation.”

“Woah,” Thomas stopped me. He tried to bring me down a dark corridor but I resisted, not wanting to be put in that situation again. “I’m not part of the death eaters,” He whispered. “Look, you’re going to think that I’m crazy.”

“I promise,” I sighed. “Nothing you can ever say will make me believe that you’re crazy.”

“I saw your future.”

“What?” I said blankly.

“I saw your future and I don’t want you to suffer the fate that I saw.”

“What did you see?”

“Your life was falling apart. You had no one.”

“I had no one?”

He looked at me sadly. 

“So,” I breathed out. “You’re not part of a cult?”

“No,” He laughed, relieved that I believed him. “I am not. That was a ruse. I can’t tell you why. But know that everything that I do is to keep you safe.”

After everything that I had been through, I don’t think that anything that he could have said would shock me.

Dinosaurs still exist? Sure. We live in a castle made of candy? Sure, why not. A virus will start because some man ate a bat? You know, that seems unlikely but sure.

“All I want to do is keep you safe,” Trevor whispered, his hand gently cradled my face in his hand. 

I moved away from him.

“All right,” I nodded. “Look, this talk didn’t make me end up in the infirmary. Must be a good sign.”

“Haha,” Trevor laughed. “Very funny.”

I smiled back at him and turned and walked away. 

“So,” Marlene said, wrapping her arm around me. “What’s up with you and the mini death eater?”

“Not a death eater,” I replied with a smile. “He’s a psychic or whatever. Saw my future, he’s trying to deter it.”

“Oh? And you believed him? What if he’s just pulling your leg?”

“Well, I don’t know, he sounded sincere.”

“Yea, just like you were ‘naked’ during your scene.”

I pulled away from her reach.

“Why are you so guarded?” I asked, my eyebrows were pulled together in confusion.

“Sometimes you need to be guarded,” Marlene shrugged. “It’s too easy to get hurt when you don’t have walls.”

“Yea,” I nodded. “But, you keep so many people out.”

“A small price to pay to not get hurt.”

“Agree to disagree.”

“There’s my girls,” Sirius exclaimed, wrapping his arms around our waists. 

Sirius walked in between us, in silence. He was waiting for one of us to comment but neither of us was in the mood.

“Ooh,” He said sadly. “Catfight?” He laughed. “Were the ladies of leisure not so leisurely?” We both stayed silent. “Come on girls, what’s the problem?”

“Lithe is in cahoots with a death eater.”

“I am not!”

“Oh really? So, you haven’t been fraternizing with Trevor?”

“Grayson!” Sirius turned his head my way. “Please tell me you haven’t forgiven him.”

“So, what if I have? He is not a death eater! He’s my friend.”

“Yea,” Marlene chuckled. “If that’s the case you have a bad taste in friends.”

Sirius laughed with her. I felt my stomach drop. Who are they to make choices for me? And anyway, what do they know? They hadn’t so much as talked to Trevor or any of his friends.

“Yea, maybe I do,” I glare at them.

I slip out of Sirius’ grip before making my way back to the dorms without them.

They have no place to judge who I make friends with. It wasn’t like they were perfect. Sirius on multiple occasions has messed up. Just this morning he slut-shamed me. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Even Marlene was at odds with him this morning. Everything feels jumbled. I think I needed a break. From everyone. 

I started to run. Faces blurred together as I rushed down the hallway. I needed air. I needed space. I felt claustrophobic, there were so many people in this school. Why was everyone up at this time? When I turned the corner, I was finally alone. 

“Lithe!”

I ran even faster; I didn’t want to be found. I wanted to be lost in the middle of the school.

“Hey, Grayson, stop,” I was tackled to the ground.

“Let-let me-me-me g-g-go,” I moaned as I struggled to escape.

“Goober,” James mumbled as he pulled me into a hug. He was trapped against his chest. “It’s ok, you’re ok. You’re in a safe space.”

“Ja-Ja-James,” I cried. “I ca-can’t-t do-do th-this. I can-can’t-t handle this-this any-anymore.”

“Can’t handle what?” He whispered as he started to rub my back.

His hand traced circles on my back. Like mom used to when we were younger. I let out a deep breath.

“Everything. There are so many people telling me so many different things. I don’t know what to believe anymore. Should I stop trusting people so much?”

“No!” James’ eyebrows knit together. “Being open and trusting is not a bad thing. It’s a good thing. Who said it was a bad thing?”

“Sirius and Marlene.”

“Of course, they did,” James sighed. “Take a look at Sirius and Marlene. They are both closed up and hide themselves off from everyone. They are scared to let people n because they’ve been hurt so many times. But there needs to be people like you to help them come out of their shell. If there weren’t people like you, they would be alone.”

“Like you?”

“Huh?”

“James, you are the one to bring all of the marauders together. You are Sirius’ best friend, you made him come out of his shell and be more open to affection and less guarded.”

“And you did that for Marlene.”

“I guess that’s a sibling trait.”

We both laughed as he comforted me. We both sat in the hallway, next to each other. I brought up some memories from the past.

“So,” I said, nudging James’ foot with my own. “Do you remember when we started to fly?”

“Haha,” James laughed. “Yea, I do. We were 6 right?”

“Yea,” I nodded. “ I think so. I remember that father took us out, much to our mother’s protest. She wanted to put mattresses down so that we wouldn’t hurt ourselves.”

“Oh yea,” James laughed. “Mom has always been such a helicopter parent. Our dad is so much more of a risk-taker than she is. Dad was ecstatic when we both made the quidditch team. He’d been training us for so long that when it finally happened dad was so happy. He makes sure to come to every game to cheer us on.”

“Really?”

“Yea, mom and dad are really proud. Dad is also a big fan of quidditch, he wants at least one of us to end up playing professionally.”

“I don’t think with my condition that it will be me.”

“Well, I don’t really want to play professionally either.”

“Oh damn.”

“Meh,” James shrugged. “He’ll be proud of us no matter what.”

“James?”

“Yea, Goober?”

“Is there anything else that I should know?” 

James looked at me curiously.

“Like any family traditions we’ve started since coming to Hogwarts.”

“Well, the marauders usually come over for Christmas. Lily usually comes over as well. Last summer, Marlene and Lily were over for almost all summer. You guys bounced. From house to house.” 

“Does Sirius stay with us? You know, on breaks.”

“No.”

“I think he should.”

“What?”

“I don’t think he should be living with his parents.”

“Oh.”

“Oh? That’s all you have to say?”

“I didn’t realize that you knew.”

“Yea, he didn’t go into details but from what I could tell, his home life wasn’t great,” I shook my head. “I think you should bring that up with mom and dad the next time you see them.”

“Yea,” James ran his hands through his hair. “I will.”

There was a long silence. 

“We should go to bed,” James yawned. 

“Yea, Tike, let’s go to bed.”  
___________

Word Count: 5155  
September 4, 2020


	26. Newt Scamander

The next few weeks seemed to blur together. I felt numb to everything around me. Don’t get me wrong, I was still up to date in my work and I kept up appearances with my friends. But it was like I was hollow on the inside. I could tell they knew something was off but they just didn’t want to ask. Quidditch was the only normalcy in my life. With every game, I got to blow off some steam. James was right, our parents didn’t miss a game. My life was great. 

Yet, I was so sad. I knew that come the end of the year; I would jump. I would be sent to a new year and all of my effort this year would mean nothing. If I was sent to the 7th year, I would need to learn another 3 years of studies in a short time so that I could get good parks on my O.W.L.’s. Then what? It’s not like I could get a job. I would find a job for a year or two before jumping, then what? I could never get a routine. I would be cursed to live an incomplete life. Do relationships even matter when you never know when they’re going to end or even begin? 

I looked at my reflection. I had changed my hair, again. I had gone from a bright red to an emerald green to a lilac. Now, I had an untameable, silvery grey. My dark brown eyes stared back at me. Dark bags hung low under my eyes. I couldn’t remember the last time I got a full night’s sleep. I had just recently started to be plagued by nightmares. They were the same every night.

I felt my legs carry me down a familiar path. The way that they took me when I needed to get out of my head. Or when I needed to talk to someone. Get advice from an adult.

In my dreams, a young woman stood above a set of graves. Four graves, to be precise. She was with her children, four of them. Accompanying her was another girl with light blonde hair. She was pushing a stroller. 

I couldn’t see their faces or even hear anything but I felt pangs of pain. 

There were others but they weren’t as vivid as that one. 

I started running as I left the castle. This was a path I took so often that I could probably do it blindfolded by now. 

Christmas was only a couple weeks away and I was unsure if these nightmares would ever leave. It was like the more I worried about these dreams the stronger they got. I knew that once I was home things wouldn’t be the same. 

I wondered how much had changed. Would my room be any different? Was it still painted a light pink with white stripes? Or had I decided that I no longer favoured it? Is my bed still covered in stickers from when I was younger? Or had I gotten a bigger, more mature bed? Would the stickers that I had put on the back of my bedroom door still be there? Was my bathroom still connected to James’?

“Grayson!” Hagrid’s deep voice greeted me as he opened the door. “Or Lithe, I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright,” I smiled, waving it off.”

“Back again I see.”

“Of course,” I smiled as Hagrid let me into his little hut.

Whenever I had the time, I made sure to visit Hagrid and Norbert. Norbert helped to calm me down whenever I wasn’t feeling my best. It was like he took away all of my pain and anger, they eased their way out of my body. Both Hagrid and Norbert were great listeners. Hagrid would help me focus on other things. He would tell me some stories about when we went to Hogwarts together. 

“Norbert!” I exclaimed as I saw the little niffler sniffing around Hagrid’s hut. 

Norbert squeaked and ran over to greet me. His little feet slapping against the floor as he waddled over. His little hands grabbed at my robes, pulling him up. He quickly climbed up onto my shoulders. He nuzzled his face into my neck. 

“It’s good to see you too buddy,” I murmured as I rubbed his back.

“He just saw ya’ yesterday,” Hagrid laughed. “He’s actin’ like he hasn’t seen ya’ for longer than that,” Hagrid brought over some tea along with his rock cakes. “So, how were yer classes?”

“They were good,” I nodded as I put some sugar in my tea. “Though I feel off,” I handed Norbert a treat from the table. “Like nobody understands what I’m going through.”

“Nobody knows what you’re going through,” Hagrid replied taking a bite out of his rock cake. “But they don’t need to. Yer’ friends just want to be there for you and support you.”

“It’s just with Sirius, he acts so different. One moment he says he loves me, the next he just wants to be friends. Now that I think of it, most of my friends are like that, Trevor, the one who asked me out, started as friends then I thought he liked me then he tried to recruit me for some weird cult and then, he said that it was all to protect me from a future of pain. Like that’s so confusing!” I exclaimed exasperated. 

Norbert nuzzled my neck. He did that whenever I raised my voice, like he could feel my anger rise. One of my bad qualities was my temper. I knew that I needed to learn how to control it. One of the reasons that I had started to avoid the people closest to me. I hated being vulnerable and they pried into my life. Like, I know that they want what’s best for me but I need to be able to handle things on my own. I need to make mistakes and learn. They need to stop seeing things at face value. By they, I mean Marlene and Sirius. They are both so incredibly guarded that it makes it hard for them to see my point of view. That people need to be given chances. People you care about deserve more than one chance.

“Every time I see Sirius and Marlene, all they do is bad mouth Trevor and his friends. They’re not bad people.” I take a deep breath. “It’s not like I’m getting ready to join Trevor and his friends again, but I want to at least try and regain the friendship that we once had. Is it really that impossible for him to be a seer?”

“It’s not really my place to say,” Hagrid said shaking his head. “I have no clue if he could be or not. Hell, I’ve never even met the little fella.”

“That’s true,” I nodded my head. “Has there ever been a seer that young?”

“Typically, yes,” Hagrid nodded. “Seer’s tend to show signs of their abilities at a young age. You were showing signs before you came to Hogwarts, do you remember?”

“No.”

“It’s alright,” Hagrid took a sip of tea. “When you were a wee little one, you would predict things in your sleep. You had dreams of the future. Well, your future.”

“What do you mean?” I cocked my head to the side. 

Norbert squealed as he was squished between my head and my shoulder. I felt him squirm to get free. His little hands tapping against my shoulder.

“Well, you always could predict your future. Your mom realized that when you were 6. You puttered up to ‘er and recited some of the words that you had previously said when she had gone to see you while pregnant. She was quite frightened, she came to Hogwarts right away, searching for you.”

“But I wasn’t here?”

“No. Since then, your mom started to pay more attention to what you have been saying. Do you remember when you had imaginary friends? You would say they weren’t imaginary.”

“Yea,” I nodded my head. The faint memory of the people I had once created in my mind springing forward in my mind as I plucked them from my memory. “Newt, Ginny, Fred and George. They were my friends.”

“Newt was a real person.”

“What?”

Hagrid got up and grabbed a book off of the shelf. It looked like an album.

“Look ‘ere,” He opened to a bookmarked page. 

On the page were two figures in one of those moving wizard photos. It was me. Alongside me was a male with light brown hair and blue eyes. We were both holding nifflers. A bunch of them, they were all babies. Our smiles were stretched on our faces. We looked thrilled.

“That’s Newt Scamander,” Hagrid piped up.

Wait. 

“Like THE Newt Scamander? The author?” I asked bewildered. 

“That very one,” Hagrid nodded. “You were both Hufflepuff.”

Hufflepuff?

“How can my house change? Aren’t I a Gryffindor?” I asked. 

Norbert scooted down to my lap. I started to pet him, rubbing his belly.

“I’m not sure,” Hagrid replied. “Maybe at the time that’s where you were needed most.”

“Maybe.”

“Your father was so proud when you would pretend to be your friend, Ginny. She’s a quidditch player for the Holyhead Harpies. You said that she’s your niece.” He replied.

“How do you know all of this?” I asked.

“Your mother made sure to annotate everything you said from then on. She brought everything to Dumbledore knowing that he would be able to help. He’s known you for many years.” Hagrid explained as he grabbed another rock cake. “I’m not sure how long. I know that you knew him when he was our professor. We’ve met on several occasions. When you taught here, we would have tea, much like we do now.”

“I hope to continue having tea with you for as long as I live,” I smile taking a big sip of tea.

“I would be honoured,” Hagrid laughed heartily. “How is James doing?”

“James is James,” I shrugged. “He doesn’t get involved with the Sirius thing, as he wants to stay neutral to the situation. Which is fine, everyone in the friend group is the same. Though, when I get upset he always chases me down to make sure that I am ok. It’s hard to play with Sirius during quidditch.”

“I ought ‘a say, the two of you are quite the pair when playing. I don’t think there’s a match that I’ve seen that you’ve lost.”

“It’s rocky. We both focus on quidditch, we don’t communicate.”

“And yet, the both of you are in synch. You move as if you’re predicting the movement of the other.”   
“I guess,” I sighed, drinking the last bit of tea in my cup.

“Sometimes you don’t need to speak to communicate. You and Sirius have always been good at that.”

“Yea, that’s true.”

“Oh dear,” Hagrid gasped looking out the window. “The sun’s setting, you better get back to your dorm.”

“Thanks, Hagrid,” I smiled. “Goodbye, little buddy.”

I look down at Norbert who whined in my lap as he nuzzled further into my lap.

“I know buddy, but I have to go,” I said giving him another treat. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“You’re welcome to come any time,” Hagrid smiled as we made our way to the door.

“Thank you, Hagrid,” I said as I passed him, Norbert.

Hagrid grabbed a shiny coin that coerced Norbert over to him.

“Have a good night,” Hagrid called as I rushed back to the castle.

It was a Friday night, I had no classes tomorrow, since there was a Hogsmeade trip this weekend I didn’t get the pleasure of sleeping in. Meaning that I would shower and pick out my clothes tonight to avoid the rush tomorrow. 

I didn’t have any plans, other than to buy my Christmas gifts. There were three weeks until Christmas and even though I wasn’t on the best of terms with everybody I still wanted to buy them presents. This group was like my family, and although I may not remember every moment with them, they are always there for me. No matter how much I may want them to give me space, they will be there for me. 

Mom and Dad had sent James and me some money a few days ago so that we could buy some presents. I had a rough idea of what I wanted to get everyone.

For Mom, some candles, fuzzy socks, some face masks and a lavender bubble bath. Creating a mini spa kit.

For Dad, some nice button-ups, some wool socks and some chocolate frogs. Chocolate frogs are a tradition that we had. At Christmas, we would each buy the other a chocolate frog. Combined, we had a huge collection of cards.

For James, I would brew him some amortentia, not enough to use on someone but enough to have a pleasant smell. I would also get him some new riding boots since his old ones were pretty beaten down. Of course, I would get him a chocolate cauldron as well.

The sweets for my family would be bought at a later date, so that they would be as fresh as possible.

Then for the rest of my friends, I would get them jewelry that would hold amortentia. I would just have to go and buy some jewelry that I think they would like. 

For the girls, I would get them necklaces with their initials on them. On their initial there would be a gem that would be made out of the concentrate of the love potion, giving it a pink hue. I would also get one for myself so we’d all have a matching set. 

For the marauders, I would get them each a ring with their first initial. The metal that the band is made out of would also have amortentia mixed in, giving the band a pink hue, although not a drastic change from the original grey. When I went to check them out on my last visit, I couldn’t believe that they would keep the smell of the love potion but they did.

For Trevor, Thomas, Robert and Michael, I’d give them some merchandise that I created for their band. Since they’re called “The Wiz”, I made them each a t-shirt with their band name on a wand. Since they played for muggles they thought that their name was quite clever. I also got Robert, Michael and Thomas some guitar picks, personalized with their band name and Trevor some drum sticks with the logo. I also got Trevor a bandana with the logo, since he had now started to wear them.

For my professors, I would buy them their favourite sweets. For Hagrid some more creature treats. 

I looked over the list I had made as I laid in bed. It felt like something was missing. In my gut, I felt like I wanted to give Sirius more. I wasn’t sure what or why but I wanted to give him something more than the rest of my friends. 

I was sure that I’d figure it out tomorrow.

When I drifted off to sleep I was plagued with a nightmare. 

The same woman from previous dreams stood above the graves. I thought back to what Hagrid had said. Was this me? Was this me in the future? Who’s grave was I standing above? Who was dead?

The brunette knelt next to the graves. She had a young child that she cradled to her chest as she knelt on the cold ground. Though the child was wrapped in a thick fabric that held it to its mother’s chest, I could see it wriggling underneath. Though, they weren’t crying.

There was another woman, a blonde woman, next to a trolly. She also had a child wrapped against her chest. There was a light-haired man next to her on the other side of the trolly who stood awkwardly. The trolly had enough room for four children, although only three accompanied them. In the fourth spot was multiple bouquets.

All the children seemed relatively close in age. Maybe less than 5 years difference in age. They all had dark brown, almost black, hair. Though one had green eyes, while the rest had dark brown eyes. 

The brown-haired woman was crying. The man grabbed bundles of flowers, placing one bouquet at each gravestone. 

The air was quiet. Even the children remained quiet. A task that I guessed wasn’t easy to accomplish. 

After a few long minutes, the man walked over to the woman and put his hand on her shoulder. It looked as if it was supposed to be a caring gesture but it came across as awkward. She looked up at him before getting up, with assistance from the man. 

They walked away sullenly. 

I stared at the plain gravestones and tried to read them but the names seemed jumbled. Though the location looked very familiar. Like I had been there before. Though I didn’t know how or when.

Sadness coated my senses. I felt drained. The longer that I was here the more energy was sucked from my body. 

I quickly snapped out of bed. My breathing was uneven. I was practically gasping for breaths. 

“You’re ok,” I whispered to myself. “It was only a dream.”

I looked over to the clock and saw that it was 5 a.m., 3 hours before we were supposed to leave for Hogsmeade. I guess I would’ve had time for a shower this morning. I walked over to the bathroom, grabbing the clothes that I was wearing out today. 

Today, I would wear a white skirt with red polka dots and a red button-up shirt. Since it was cold I would wear red tights and a black winter jacket. My hair was done up with a couple of red barrettes to keep it out of my face. I was also wearing bold eyeliner with some mascara and red lipstick. 

I grabbed my black purse before I made my way down to the dining hall to get a good breakfast. I had about an hour before I needed to be on the train anyways. 

I grabbed a few pieces of toast and some grapes, throwing them on my plate. After I had nightmares I was never really hungry, though I ate knowing that breakfast is really important. I knew that the sadness was hiding my hunger. So, I picked food to snack on.

I pulled out my Care for Magical Creatures homework and plan out the essay. I was supposed to write about Nifflers which was a piece of cake. I expected to finish it before I had to leave.

“You look like hell.”

Like I said. I expected to be able to finish it.

I sighed as I looked up at James. He somehow always knew when I had a rough night. I guess I can blame it on a twin’s intuition. 

“Thanks, Tike, you really know how to compliment a girl,” I said sarcastically. 

“Grayson,” James said seriously as he sat down to my right. “You don’t look so good. Did you sleep well last night?”

“Just the usual nightmare,” I mumbled as I threw a grape into my mouth. “Did you see that? I caught the grape in my mouth!”

“Don’t change the subject,” He said sternly. “What nightmare?”

“I, um, I keep getting this reoccurring dream,” I said nervously. Not that James would judge me, but this felt personal and I didn’t want to seem weak. Even if he is my brother. “There’s this brown-haired woman at a graveyard with a blonde-haired woman and a light-haired man. They also have like a bunch of kids with them,” I looked away from my brother. “This dream just fills me sadness and I don’t know why. Like, I felt like I’ve been there before. But I don’t remember going.”

“Well,” James nodded. “The only cemetery that we’ve been to is the family cemetery. We went when our grandmother passed away. I think we were about 4-years-old. We were really young so you may not remember. Hell, I don’t remember being there.”

“F-Fam-Family cemetery?” I looked at him with wide eyes. My eyes strained to be open as I could feel the air dry them out.

“Yea? What about it?”

“Who’s going to die?” I could feel tears roll down my face.

“Hey,” James said softly as he pulled me into a hug. “No one is going to die. It was just a dream. Your brain took a location where you’ve been before and created a dream around it. That’s all,” He rubbed circles on my back. “No one is going to die. You’re not going to lose me just yet. I would never let you out so easily.”

“Shut up, Tike,” I cried into his shoulder.

“Oh Goober,” James pulled back and wiped away some tears. “Don’t be such a crybaby,” Though his tone was in a teasing manner his eyes held mine softly. He knew that my dream had scared me. 

“But my dreams come true,” I hiccupped. “What if it comes true?”

“Grayson,” My brother laughed shaking his head. “The night before we left for Hogwarts, you had a nightmare that a future version of you tried to kill the past version of you on the Hogwarts express. Trust me, these dreams don’t mean anything more than your brain trying to mess with you.”

I nodded as I ate a piece of toast. My leg bounced as I wondered if the family cemetery was the one that I saw in my dream. What if this came true? Who would die? What if mom and dad died? I mean, they aren’t that old. They need to see me graduate. Get married. Have kids. 

“Come on,” James said, tapping my arm. “Time to go to Hogsmeade.”

I ate the rest of my grapes and finished the rest of my drink. I threw my notebook back in my bag and followed James out of the dining room. 

“Prongs!” Sirius exclaimed as he ran over to us. “Mate where’ve you been?”

“We’re having a sibling day,” James said, looping his arm through mine. 

“Oh,” Sirius said, his smile fell from his face as he looked over to me. “Alright, Prongs, your choice but you’ll be missing out. Lily’s planning on hanging out with us today.”

“It’s ok,” James smiled, pulling me closer. “I haven’t spent time with my sister in a while. I’ll hang out with Lily next time.”

“Are you sure, mate?” Sirius asked again.

“Yea,” James looked over at me with a big grin. “Yea, I’m sure.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” I replied as Sirius went back to the rest of the group. “You don’t need to spend time with me. I’ll be fine on my own.”

“Yea,” James shrugged running his hand through hair. “Who would want to spend time with you?”

“Oh, shut up,” I laughed. “You’re such a loser.”

James rolled his eyes, a huge grin plastered on his face. 

“Can you hold my coin purse in your purse?” James asked.

“Yea, sure.”

I open my purse, holding it open for James to toss it in. Luckily my purse was big enough to hold a lot of stuff. Currently, I had a couple of my coin purse, James’ coin purse, some pens, some highlighters, some gum and a couple notebooks. I had 2 notebooks, one for Care of Magical Creatures and one for Potions. I was planning on doing some homework and rewrite some of my notes. However, with James is joining me I’m not sure if I’ll get the chance. 

“Hey,” Lily huffed as she joined us in line. “Sirius and Marlene are being ridiculous. Do you mind if we sit with you?”

Remus had a tight smile on his face as he stood beside her.

Lily was wearing a pair of blue jeans with a green coat. She was also wearing mascara and a light pink lip-gloss. She looked gorgeous. 

Next to Lily was the dapper-looking Remus. He was wearing some dark blue jeans with a maroon sweater. Remus never wore anything too heavy, since his body heat kept him warm throughout the year. Next to James’ cargo pants and blue winter jacket, Remus looked like a model. 

“Yea,” Remus nodded. “We won’t interrupt your sibling’s day but we just need a break from Sirius and Marlene.”

“What are they doing?” I asked. 

I thought I was the only one acting off.

“They just will not shut up about you, Lithe,” Remus said shaking his head.

“What?” James asked.

The confused look on his face probably mirrored my own. 

What were they talking about? Why were they talking about me?

“They keep talking about how much you’ve changed since you jumped. That you’re no longer the same person you were before,” Lily exclaimed.

“No shit,” James exclaimed. “Bloody hell, I knew Padfoot was dense but come on. She’s jumped for the first time, no kidding she’s going to be different. But it’s not like she’s changed that much. She is still the same bloody person.”

“James,” I said, trying to calm him down. “It’s not a big deal, they just need to come to terms with this. Though, I thought Marlene understood.”

“It’s like the more they spend time together, the more they forget that you’re a living person. A living person that is still trying to figure out what’s happening,” James sighed. 

“Next,” Professor McGonagall said. 

We stepped forward. McGonagall peered at us from behind her glasses. 

“Ms. Potter,” Professor McGonagall said with a concerned tone. “I saw you got in late last night.”

“Yes ma’am,” I gulped. 

I hoped she still let me go on the trip. I know that it is bad to stay out late but it wasn’t as if I was out past curfew. Plus, I was with Hagrid, it wasn’t as if I was exploring the forest.

“It’s nice to see you and Hagrid are still having tea time,” She smiled at me. “Good to see some things haven’t changed,” Her eyes looked as if they held a lot of emotions but I could be wrong. “Will you four be sharing a compartment?”

“Yes, Professor,” We replied.

“Well alright,” She nodded. “Ms. Potter, if you ever need to talk, my door is always open.”

“Thank you, Professor McGonagall,” I smiled as I followed James onto the train, Lily and Remus following shortly behind.

As we walked through the train, we looked around until we found an empty compartment. Sirius, Marlene, Peter, Kat and Nina were sat a few compartments down from us. We could hear their laughs from here. 

I was sure that Sirius was dazzling them with some stupid joke. 

I sat next to James and Lily and Remus both sat together.

“Have they said anything else?” I asked the room. “About me.”

Lily and Remus exchanged a look. They looked as if they wanted to tread this topic lightly. Lily bit her lip and she looked out the window. Remus tugged at the sleeves of his maroon coloured jumper. 

“They, well, they haven’t been saying nice things,” Remus muttered. He wouldn’t meet my eye. His were trailed on the floor.

“Look,” Lily said. “I’m just going to say it. Rip it off like a band-aid,” Lily took a deep breath. “They’re saying that you’re joining the death eaters.”

_________________

Words:4578  
September 13, 2020


	27. An Old Flame

“What?”

“That’s absolute bullocks,” James scowled. “Are they bloody stupid?”

Lily shrugged. 

“I don’t know,” Remus replied. “At first, they were speaking and explaining it logically. When they said that she was friends with a known death eater.”

“Trevor is not a death eater,” I groaned.

“But I thought you said that he admitted to it.” Lily’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“No,” I looked out the window, watching the trees pass by. “Well, yes. I had originally said that. But, then he told me the truth. Well,” I looked down to the floor. “I think he told me the truth. That he is a seer. He can see the future. He says that all he wanted to do is prevent a sad future for me. But, there’s no way of knowing for sure.” I saw the look of confusion on Remus and Lily’s face. “I believe him.”

“I believe you,” James said. His voice was soft, as if he was scared that a harsh sound would cause me to break. 

“So, do I,” Lily agreed. 

“A seer, a werewolf and a time-traveller walk into a bar,” Remus started, shooting James and I a knowing look.

Since Lily was in the room, he didn’t go any further. 

“So,” James said, changing the subject. “Why does he think that you’re going to have a sad future?”

“He never said,” I replied. “But, I think my dreams are telling me the same thing.”

James tensed his jaw. He didn’t want to believe my dreams any more than I did.

“What dream?” Remus asked.

Both him and Lily were looking at us with intrigue. 

I swear, my life could be a reality tv show. Heartache for the those who intrigued by the thought of love triangles. Action for those seeking a thrill. Mystery for those who love to try and figure plot points out before they happen. My life was a puzzle that nobody can quite figure out. I hoped that I could figure everything out before it’s too late.

“I have premonitions,” I replied. “Mostly just in dreams. I see the future. My future.”

“That’s not concrete,” James argued. 

“I’ve been having a reoccurring nightmare,” I explained. “Two woman and a man with 5 children.”

“Ok?” Lily asked.

“At a graveyard,” I said.

“Oh ok,” Remus replied. “What’s wrong with that?”

“The sadness,” I said. “There was so much sadness that filled me when I was there. In the future, I am going to lose someone, or maybe multiple someone’s, and it is going to hurt me so much. I will be filled with so much sadness. Which is why I believe Trevor.”

“How old were you in the dream?” Lily asked.

“I don’t know,” I sighed. “To be fair, I don’t even know if it was me. The faces in my dreams were blurred. All I know is she has brown hair and that I’ve predicted my future before in my dreams.” Lily and Remus leaned closer towards me. “When I was little, I recited the words that I had said to my mother when she was pregnant. The exact words.”

“This is our stop,” James said, ushering the four of us out of the compartment. 

I could tell that he wasn’t a fan of us talking about my weird dreams. He didn’t like it when people were sad. He especially didn’t like when people were sad and he couldn’t do anything about it. Even his pranks, most of them were just to make people laugh. They were never mean-spirited. Well, unless they were towards Severus. When Severus hurt me, James made sure to hex him the next time he saw him. After he made sure I was all right, of course.

“See you later, I guess,” James mumbled as he pulled me away from them. 

I looked over my shoulder to see Remus and Lily staring after us, confusion written on their faces. I shot them an apologetic look. I wasn’t sure why James was acting like this. Like I knew he refused to accept my dreams as the future. 

“Where do you want to go first?” James asked. His grin was wide though his eyes looked terrified.

“Tike, that was rude,” I scolded him.

“Goober, it’s our sibling day,” He groaned. “Scold me later.”

“Alright,” I agreed, not wanting to waste the day being cross with him. 

Though I’d be sure to bring it back up later.

“So, where do you want to go first?” James asked, his arm hooking with mine. 

“Well,” I said. “I was planning on going Christmas shopping.”

“Oh?” James grinned as if I was actually about to tell him what I would be getting him. 

“As if I’m telling you,” I rolled my eyes. “I’ll be picking up everyone else’s present today though.”

I had already inquired about the items that I was planning on picking up, making sure that when I would pick them up I could pay for all of them. I had them shipped some to Gladrags Wizardwear, so that I could easily get them before I leave for break. Since it was already December 7th 2020, I needed to pick up the items so that I could wrap them. We were planning on doing a gift exchange next week on the 14th. Even though Trevor and his friends were not a part of this Christmas exchange, I was still picking their items up from the post office so that I could give them out later next week. 

I predicted that the Christmas party between us friends was going to be difficult. Not to set up or anything but because I was not sure how  
“Did you want to go and pick them up first or did you have anywhere else you’d like to go?” James asked. 

He was being so kind. Did my dream scare him more than I thought? I know that he didn’t like when I brought them up but was this why? Because he was scared they were true. 

“Actually, I was thinking of going to pick up a bag of sweets to share at our Christmas party with our friends,” I smiled at James, leading him to Honeydukes. 

“Alright,” James grinned with a new found skip in his step. 

“I’m not planning on getting a lot,” I explained. “A box of jelly beans, some jelly slugs, and maybe a couple chocolate frogs. Plus, some other things for me.”

“Oh, not much, huh?” James laughed.

“Oh,” I remembered suddenly. “I should probably pick up the sweets for my professors.”

“Someone’s pulling for favourite student,” James teased. “Evans and Moony will have to step up their game to beat you.”

“Well one of us needs to be a good student.”

“Oi! I’m a good student.”

“Not better than me.”

“Wanna bet?”

“What’s the bet?”

“Five galleons to whomever gets higher marks this semester?” 

“You’re on!” 

“So, what do you need? We’ll split the store,” James said with a mischievous look in his eyes. 

“At what cost?”

It wasn’t every day he was willing to do favours for me. Even if it was a regular thing.

“That the candy is from the both of us,” James said with pleading eyes.

“Fine,” I sighed. 

At least I wouldn’t be paying for it on my own. Also, an excuse for James to carry the bags for me. Maybe I could rope him into paying too.

“You get the chocolate and baked good, I’ll get the rest,” I explained. 

We raced into the candy store doing the usual routine of splitting our separate ways. I picked up a bit of everything, knowing that none would go to waste. James and I met at the cash register after 20 minutes of grabbing treats. 

“Ready?” James smiled, raising his basket high in the air.

Some customers turned towards us, disgust covering their expression. I couldn’t help but laugh, James could be so foolish. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes he could be serious. Well, not Sirius, but serious. He was always good at school. He didn’t need to study to pass like I have to. If James was in my situation, he would barely need to glance at the textbook to pass. Luckily, I got good at studying. So good, that my grades are higher than his. He was dumb to make that bet with me. I was sure to win.

“As always,” I grinned, putting my basket on the counter. 

He followed my lead, putting his basket on the counter.

“Oooh, young Potter’s,” The man behind the counter laughed. “I see that I’ll need to do another re-stock after your visit.”

“We have to get our 3-week supply,” James grinned. “And your shop is the best around.”

“I see,” The shopkeeper said giving James a knowing grin. “Well,” He said looking down at everything we grabbed. “3 boxes of Bertie Bott’s, 4 Chocolate Cauldrons, 5 Chocolate Frogs, 4 Chocolate Wands, 20 Drooble’s Blowing Gum.”

“Bloody hell, think you’ve got enough?” James said giving me an incredulous look.

“Maybe,” I shrugged. “I usually chew at least 5 a week, plus I’m getting some for Sirius.”

“Sirius only chews it whenever you do,” James commented rolling his eyes.

“Let’s see,” The shopkeeper continued. I felt bad for not knowing his name by now. “6 Honeydukes Chocolate Bars, 5 Mice Pops, 2 Jelly Slugs, 1 Peppermint Toads and 6 Sugar Quills,” He looked over to us, peering from behind the rim of his glasses. “Will that be all?”

“I believe so,” James replied, his eyes scanning the store for something we may have forgotten. 

“Yes,” I replied, shaking my head. “We’ve gotten everything. I doubt we’ll be able to carry everything back to the castle if we get any more.”

“Alright,” The old shopkeeper smiled at us. “Your total for today is 8 galleons, 3 sickles and 13 knuts.”

“Perfect,” James smiled, setting down 9 galleons. “You can keep the change. Happy holidays, Mr. Flume.”

“Yes,” I smiled at the jolly old man. “Happy holidays, Mr. Flume.”

“Oh, young potters,” Mr. Flume chuckled as he handed us our bags. His cheeks were bright red from laughing. “The two of you never fail to make my day. I hope the two of you have a great holiday.”

“Thank you,” We both replied as we exit the shop.

“Alright,” James said pulling out the Jelly Slugs, handing one over to me. “Where to next?” 

“Well,” I replied taking a bite out of my Jelly Slug. “I just need to go to Gladrag’s and the Post office. How about you take the bags from Honeydukes and get a table at The Three Broomsticks and I’ll take care of my shopping? Unless, you have things to take care of?”

“Nope,” James replied with his mouth full of Jelly Slug. “Sounds like a good plan to me.” He gulped down the pieces in his mouth. “Should I order for you while I wait?”

“Yes please,” I nodded, handing him the bags. 

“Alright,” James said, turning to leave. “Stay safe.”

“I should be saying that to you,” I yelled after him.

I could hear his laugh as I walk away. I hoisted my black purse higher on my shoulder as I make my way closer to Gladrag’s. 

“Ah, Ms. Potter, I’ve been expecting you,” Mr. Devine smiled widely as I walked inside. “All of your order has arrived.”

“Brilliant!” I exclaim, smiling widely. “Even the riding boots?”

“The riding boots were in fact the easiest of the bunch to acquire,” Mr. Devine shook his head. 

He led me over to the back of the store where he had been keeping my order.

“They just got here a couple days ago,” He said as he brought out the multiple bags. “Like you asked, I wrapped them for you and labelled them with the initials on the jewellery. As you will see, the boxes for the necklaces are bigger than the rings, making easier to discern which is which. I have to say, you have impeccable taste in jewellery, my dear. ” 

Mr. Devine handed me a big bag. I looked inside to see a big box, containing what I presumed to be James’ riding boots, with about a dozen smaller boxes accompanying it. 

“Thank you so much,” I exclaimed with a bright smile.

I had already paid for the items when I had ordered them a few weeks ago. Mr. Devine had helped me pick them out and was the one to send out my order, since they were from a shop in Diagon Alley and I wasn’t able to get there before break.

“Not a problem, my dear,” Mr. Devine smiled. “Thank you for shopping at Gladrag’s Wizardwear.”

I strolled out of the shop, making my way over to the post office to get the gifts for Trevor, Thomas, Michael and Robert.

“Hello,” I greeted the owner as I made my way into the Post office. 

I admired all the different coloured owls that surrounded me. There were so many of them, it was difficult not to spend the day just looking at all of them.

“My name is Grayson Potter,” I said to the young lady behind the counter. “I believe that I have a package.”

“Ahh, yes,” She nodded. “Ms. Potter, you have a couple packages actually.”

The lady behind the counter turns, grabbing multiple boxes. They were fairly large for 5 t-shirts, 15 guitar picks, 6 drumsticks and 2 bandanas. 

“Are these all mine?” I asked, my eyebrows pulling together.

“Yes. These two,” She explained, pointing to a medium box and a small box. “Are from the same place. But, this one,” She said pointing to a much smaller box. “Is from a different place. It says it’s from an old flame.” 

An old flame? Was this a joke from Sirius? Or maybe Trevor? Because they are not that old. We are the same age, and I don’t think either of them qualify to be an old flame.

“Strange,” I mumbled as I took my packages off of the counter, slipping the smaller ones in my purse while slipping the bigger one into the Gladrag’s bag. “Thank you.”

I made my way out of the postal office and headed over to The Three Broomsticks. Many students were crowding the street, but I managed to get through easily. 

The air in the Three Broomsticks smelled of their famous butterbeer. I hoped that one was waiting for me with James. 

As I looked around the room, I saw many familiar faces. Trevor, Thomas, Robert and Michael, occupied one of the big booths. Four girls from our year accompanied them, though I could only recognize one, Kat, who was sat in between Robert and Thomas. The other three seemed familiar but none of their names came to mind.

In another booth, Lily and Nina sat with Remus and Peter, books were scattered across the table. They didn’t look up when I walked in, too focused on their reading material.

Our regular booth was occupied by Sirius and Marlene. 

They weren’t alone.

In the booth alongside them was Aries Winter, a Slytherin from our year and another girl, a Ravenclaw, I believe. Though I couldn’t be sure without seeing her uniform.

What a hypocrite. Marlene scolds Sirius for confessing his feelings and then chasing another girl and then she goes off and does the same. Good thing I didn’t need anyone to ‘pick up the pieces’ this time. 

Finally, one I tore my gaze away from them, I saw James in a smaller booth with two mugs of Butterbeer and a couple trays of chips. 

“Hello, Tike,” I smiled as I slid into the booth across from him. 

“Just as I thought you were not coming-” The moment he looked up his smile dropped from his face. “You saw them?” Though it sounded like a question, it clearly wasn’t. “I tried to get a booth as far from them as I could. I’m sorry.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I shook my head. “This is our sibling day,” I smiled taking a sip of my butterbeer, making sure to get some of the foam on my upper lip. “They can’t ruin it,” I said pulling a goofy face.

James’ laughter echoed through the pub, many of the customers turned to our booth, curious as to what made it laugh so loudly. Marlene and Sirius both looked our way, though I quickly averted my eyes, looking towards Trevor’s table. His eyes locked with mine, a huge grin plastered on his face. 

“Nice mustache,” He mouthed through all of the noise, pointing to his upper lip. 

I shot him a wink before turning back to my brother.

“Back on good terms with Trevor, I see,” James stated.

“Yea,” I sighed. “I believe that he is telling the truth. He hasn’t given me any reason to doubt him. Plus, who could stay mad at that goofball.”

“What about Sirius?” 

I furrowed my brow as I stared into my butterbeer. 

“Look,” James said in a hushed tone. “I’m not supposed to tell you this,” He looked around, as if to see people listening into our conversation. “But, the reason Sirius is being such a bloody idiot is because he’s jealous.”

“Jealous?” I spat, not believing a word that he was saying.

What kind of person states their crush is a death eater out of jealousy? 

“Yes,” James said in a hushed tone. “He thinks that you no longer have feelings for him so he is putting his wall back up with you.”

“Ridiculous.”

“I know,” James took a couple fries. “This whole situation is ridiculous-”

“Hello Potters,” A grinning voice said from beside us. 

Next thing I knew, the voice had plopped its body next to me in my booth.

“How has your siblings’ day been?” Sirius asked as he slung an arm around me, giving me a side hug.

I stared wide-eyed at my brother as his eyes squinted at Sirius.

“Not over yet, Padfoot,” James said casually. 

“Oh no?” He asked, taking a chip from my mustard and ketchup splattered masterpiece. “These chips are delicious.”

I stared at the chips; my jaw was clenched. 

What in the bloody hell was he doing? 

I refused to give him the satisfaction of a reaction. I stayed frozen as I stared ahead at my brother.

“What brings you to our table, Pads?” James asked, after a long silence.

“Can’t I visit my mate and his sister?” Sirius said innocently.

“Not when we’re having a sibling day,” James said, his voice was getting colder as the conversation continued. 

“No need to get angry mate,” Sirius said calmly. 

His arm stayed around me. He wasn’t planning on leaving any time soon. 

I looked passed Sirius over to Trevor’s table. His eyebrows were furrowed, as he looked from Sirius to me.

“You bloody scoundrel!” I shout, pushing Sirius off of me. 

Apparently, I pushed him a little too hard because he fell to the floor with a loud thump. 

“Oi!” He shouted. “What the bloody hell was that for?”

“What was that for?” I shouted. Students were turning in their chairs to watch the scene we were causing. “Just admit that you’re jealous.”

“Jealous?” His eyes glared up at me. He stood up from the floor and brushed himself off. “Why would I be jealous?”

“Because you couldn’t fathom the thought of one girl not having feelings for you,” I spat at him, my hand was in a tight fist. “You have such a giant ego that you couldn’t believe that a girl could possibly not be attracted to you.”

He stood there is shock, watching me with a straight face. His jaw was clenched, making his jawline more prominent. 

Of course, he looked gorgeous when he was he was mad. Only to prove that life would be so unfair.

“I don’t want to be here while you’re having some stupid pissing contest with Trevor. Though it must not be a good competition,” I raised my voice. “Since he’s not even bloody playing!” 

Sirius stared at me with wide eyes as I yelled at him in front of the many eyes watching us. His eyes held fear and I realized that I shouldn’t have raised my voice with him. I was now reminding him of his family. 

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. When I opened my eyes back up, everyone was still where they were when I closed them.

“I’m sorry,” I said with a much softer tone. I held out my hand, to help Sirius get back up. “I’m sorry that I yelled at you.”

The room was quiet. 

Sirius then took my hand, pulling against it to stand himself up. He looked at me for a long moment. I held my breath, waiting for him to make a move.

I felt as if I was confronting a scared animal and I had I had no clue if it was going to attack me or not. 

He gave me a short nod. Then he tore his eyes away from me and sat himself next to me.

“Carry on, James shouted. “Shows over.” 

Conversation in the pub continued. Except for our table. We were silent. I was unsure of how to react. I knew I was a hot-head. My two reactions were to either run and hide or blow up in people’s faces. 

Not a good way to handle things.

“James,” Sirius said, looking up to my brother. “Can I talk to Grayson alone?”

James looked over to me, wanting to make sure that it was cool with me. I nodded, giving him the okay to go. 

Sirius and I needed to sort things out. It wasn’t ok that we were fighting. We were bringing both of our friend groups down with us. Everyone in this situation was miserable, we both needed to get over ourselves and sort things out. He is my brothers’ best friend. I am his best friends’ sister. We needed to get along. 

“I’ll be with Evans and Moony if you need me,” James said, though I couldn’t tell who this was directed at.

James was soon out of the booth leaving Sirius and I alone to talk.

I looked over to Sirius and was immediately entranced in his grey eyes. It was like they had their own gravitational pull. I then noticed how far they were. Not that I’d gotten the chance to see them up close in a while. The last time we were even this close, those same eyes were glaring at me. Laughing at me, talking rudely about Trevor, someone he never gave the light of day. 

“Look,” Sirius said, his black hair fell gently around his face, framing it perfectly. He looked like a fallen angel with the amount of pain he was showing in his eyes. “I miss you. I really don’t want to lose you. I just- I don’t trust him.”

“You don’t need to,” I replied shaking my head.

“Yes,” His eyes held mine so that I couldn’t look away. “If anything, ever happened to you,” His hand reached out, brushing back my hair. “I don’t know what I’d do.”  
_________

Word Count:3861  
Sept 20, 2020


	28. Prongs and Padfoot Kiss

“Maybe you ought to trust me,” I replied, moving away from his hand. 

I wasn’t about to give in to him so easily. He can’t just win me over by saying some kind words that make the butterflies in my stomach act up without really apologizing. We really needed to talk. His jealousy was causing a great block in between us and I wasn’t going to let him get away with blocking me out and saying mean things to me only to act like it was for a joke. 

“The way you are treating me is not acceptable,” I sigh, distancing myself from him. “You can’t call me names and treat me as a possession. I am my own person.”

“I know that,” He sighed, running his hand through his long black hair. “I do trust you-”

“Do you?”

“Of course, I do!”

His eyes were wide as he stared at me in disbelief. He looked as if he wanted to reach out and grab me, but he restrained himself. Respecting my unspoken wish to not be touched. Even though his own longing was different than mine. 

“I do trust you,” He replied softly. His grey eyes were sincere as he looked at me with such tenderness and care. 

“Then why do you act like I can’t make my own decisions?” 

Sirius took a deep breath. His walls were coming down as we were talking. Not all at once but slowly. Brick by brick. I could see the smirk he wore carelessly was gone, replaced by a small frown. His eyebrows were knit as he truly thought about our conversation and what I was saying along with how to reply. He was truly trying to understand where I was coming from, to learn. 

A minute passed, he continued to look deep in thought, coming up with how to reply. He knew that this conversation was very important and that a half-arsed answer was not acceptable. That our relationship, whatever it may be, was on the line. 

I ate some fries while I waited. 

“It’s not that I don’t think you can make your own decisions,” Sirius started. His stormy eyes held my gaze. “It’s how independent you are,” He froze, quickly backtracking. “That came out wrong. Being independent is not a bad thing,” His hands were out in front of him. Like in a stopping motion. “You act like- no, you don’t need anybody to help you. When you want something you go for it,” He slid James’ butterbeer from across the table over, taking a big gulp. “When you jumped, I thought you were going to need me.”

“I did need you.”

“No, you didn’t,” Sirius shook his head. “Sure, to catch up you needed a bit of help, but you caught up so quickly. And you’ve adapted to this life so fast. I feel, I just, ugh,” His eyebrows knit together as he tried to figure out the words to explain himself. “Like you don’t need me.”

“You’re acting the way you are because you think I don’t need you?”

“And jealousy,” Sirius’ head was held low. He looked as if he was analyzing all of the cracks in the booth. “Whenever I saw you with Trevor I thought you were trying to replace me.”

My eyes narrowed at him. 

“Not replace me,” He sighed. “That was not the right term.” His hands were fidgeting. They went from rubbing small circles in his palm to flexing his fingers. “I felt, like-like you weren’t interested in me anymore. That you had moved on.”

“But you told me-”

“Yea, I know what I said. That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t hurt to see you happy with someone else,” He sighed heavily. “And then when you walked out, with your short skirt,” He looked away, an indiscernible look in his eyes. “I couldn’t believe that you weren’t mine.”

“Weren’t yours?” I asked. 

I am not some possession to be owned by the closest male suitor. I am my own person. This is ridiculous. Why do people think they own me? 

I shook my head and turned away from him. I ate some fries in frustration.

It wasn’t like I could just get up and leave, he was blocking my way out. Plus, this wasn’t big enough to call in my idiotic brother as reinforcements. 

“Look,” Sirius sighed, running his hand through his hair. The more he ran his hands through his hair the more it was starting to look like a lion’s mane. “The way that everyone was looking at you, I loved that you were finally showing yourself off. Not that what you would wear before was much different. But you had this confidence to you, that you had never worn before. You were dazzling the room with your smile and I was sad that I wasn’t the reason for your happiness.”

“Sirius-”

“Yes, I know. That I was the one who fucked up. I know. I know. I know. I bloody screwed up. I said so many things that I shouldn’t have.” He grabbed my hands, holding them delicately in his own. “I have fucked up so many times and I know that I have my walls up but I want to let them down. I want to let them down for you.”

“Really?”

Knew that this wasn’t something that could happen overnight. I knew that Sirius wasn’t just going to be a completely different person. That wasn’t possible. Plus, I wouldn’t want him to change. Well, not anything drastic at least.

“Yes,” He said with a tight smile. “Even if that means I have to be nice to Trevor.”

“Look,” I shrugged, pulling my hands away. I needed to take a second. I didn’t want to get my hopes up. “Things can’t just go back to the way that they used to be. What you did really hurt me.”

“I know,” Sirius replied quickly. He slowly set his hands in his lap; his eyes trailed down to his hands. “I’m truly sorry for hurting you. I know it might take time for you to decide if you accept my apology or not but I am willing to wait. For months, I have been torn apart with how distanced we’ve been. Whenever you’d walk into the classroom and look to sit anywhere but beside me.” 

I couldn’t believe that I forgot about the worst thing that he did. What had practically started all of today’s events.

“Sirius,” I said, taking a sip of butterbeer. “You and Marlene were saying that I was a bloody death eater. That’s not a light accusation.”

“I’m sorry. I was mad.”

He was mad? He was mad. Of course, he was mad. That makes it all better. Forgive him on the spot. He was mad. How could I not forgive him for such a forgivable excuse? He was mad. Of course. I always accuse my best friends sisters of being a death eater when I am mad. Yea of course, of course. Makes total sense. He was mad. Bloody hell. I am mad, why don’t I start shouting that he is a bloody death eater.

“Just because you were mad does not justify you telling everyone that I support some evil cult leader!”

“I know! I know, I shouldn’t have done that. I was just so jealous of you and Trevor-”

“You were jealous,” I paused. “Of me and Trevor,” I paused again. “So, you decided to tell our classmates that we are both death eaters?”

“I wasn’t thinking.”

“No, you clearly were not.”

I ate the last couple of chips from my dish before piling my dish under James’ half-eaten one. Then I drank the rest of my butterbeer pushing the empty mug over towards the empty dishes. 

How could he do that? Does he not know how serious those implications were? They are not to be taken lightly. I could get into serious trouble if people thought it was true. 

“I’m sorry.”

I didn’t want to accept his apology. I was too enraged. 

“This was today, Sirius,” I said, my eyes glaring into his. “It wasn’t as if you were a completely different person when you said these things. This was a couple of hours ago.”

He held his head low, shaking it ever so slightly. 

I hope that he would learn that his actions have consequences. Because I am not sure how much more of this that I will be able to take. 

“I know,” He replied. “I’m sorry.”

“I understand that you are sorry,” I told him. “But, I am not ready to accept your apology. You’re going to have to build my trust back up.” 

His head shot up. His eyes were wide and full of hope. They held mine, happy that he had a chance. I wasn’t sure how many chances he had already had but I was sure that this was the first time that he truly thought that he would lose me. A small part of me was happy that he cared so much, that same part wished that he wouldn’t act so rash and make thoughtless decisions.

“Ok,” He nodded rapidly, as if he were a bobblehead in a car that went over a pothole. “I won’t mess this up.”

“That’s for you to show me not tell me.”

“I will!”

We then started to talk, like we used to. He was telling me about his day and how he and Marlene had been hanging out. He laughed as he told me how their day was hijacked by Aries and Nala, two girls from our year. Nala is a Hufflepuff. Nala and Aries were good friends. I then proceeded to tell him about my day, not including what I got everyone. Though, I did mention what stores I went to.

“I should probably head back,” Sirius stated apologetically. 

I looked over to the booth that he was previously occupying to see three faces turned, watching us.

“Haha,” I laughed. I reached up to run my hand through my hair, though I remembered that I had berets in my hair and settled for twirling the ends of my hair. The silver reflecting the dim light of the pub. “I guess you should.”

“We’ll talk later,” He smiled as he got out of the booth. 

As I sat in the booth, I thought of the boy who had just left it. Many questions rushed through my mind.

Was I really ready to forgive him? Had he meant all of the words that he had said? What about Marlene? Did she say the same words for the same reasons? Was I ready to forgive her?

“He drank my butterbeer,” James pouted as he joined me at the table, sliding into his original spot across from me. 

“He did.”

“Are you alright?” James asked carefully as he waived over the waitress.

“Yea, well, I just, I don’t know,” I confessed. “I want to forgive him, but I don’t want to be, uh, friends, well really anything. I don’t want to be anything to him if he treats me this way.”

I knew my brother would give me good advice. Also, he had a better context for everything that was going on. He had a better feeling for if Sirius was going to hurt me again. James was Sirius’ best friend; he would never let him near me if Sirius had bad intentions. 

“I understand,” James nodded.

“I told him that I’d give him a chance. He seemed as if he was being honest so I decided to give him a chance. I really hope that he doesn’t mess this up.”

“He won’t mess this up,” James replied. 

His eyes held mine. He was making a promise that I wasn’t sure that he could keep.

“Sirius will not cause you any more sadness,” James said with a soft smile. “Only happiness from now on.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep Tike,” I shook my head.

“Do you two want refills?” The waitress asked, gesturing to our empty mugs. 

“Yes please,” I nodded with a grin. “May I also get another portion of chips?”

“Of course,” The waitress smiled broadly. “It’ll be just a few minutes.”

“Thank you,” I replied as she walked away.

“I promise,” James started. “That if Sirius steps even a toe out of line, I will end him.”

“James,” I laughed, the thought of James and Sirius fighting was hilarious. I remembered when they fought over who got to carry me back to the hospital wing. “You and Sirius fight so much for a pair of weirdos who are practically attached at the hip.”

“As if you, Lily and Marlene aren’t the same,” He rolled his eyes. “Marlene fancies you that’s for sure.”

“Maybe,” I shrugged. “I’ve never really considered fancying a girl though.”

“No?”

“James, have you considered it? Liking boys, I mean.”

“Not really,” He shrugged. “Me and Padfoot have kissed once though.”

“What?” My jaw dropped.

Both Sirius and James were very outward with their affections for females, I had never thought they would like anyone else. I mean James is so loudly adamant about his obsession with Lily that I was even starting to doubt he saw anyone but her. 

“It was for a joke,” He laughed. “Last year, you told me that you were taking Lily away and then I confessed my profound love for Padfoot. Of course, we took it as far as we could.”

“Wow James.” I couldn’t wait to witness this. “Copping a feel for your best mate?”

“No,” He shook his head fiercely. “I do not feel that way about Padfoot.”

“Remus then?” I asked, a big grin plastered on my face. “Or maybe Peter?”

“No, no, no,” He shook his head. “I do not fancy them.”

“Oh?” I continued. “Another fella caught your eye?”

“Bloody hell,” He shook his head. “I am not gay.”

“Ok,” I said more seriously. “I would not judge you if you were.”

“I know, Goober,” He smiled.

James glanced around the room; a certain red-haired girl caught his eye. 

“There’s only one person who’s caught my eye,” James sighed. “And she has no interest in me.”

“Why don’t you just ask her out?” I asked tentatively. 

“I have,” He grumbled. “She keeps saying no. Even when you suggested a double-date with you and Sirius, she said that she would rather drop-dead.”

“Oh.”

Me and Sirius went on dates? Sirius and I went on dates? Huh, that doesn’t surprise me. I guess that’s why he wants me to remember so badly. 

“She says that I am a toe-rag,” James complained. “And that I am a terrible person.”

“Didn’t you pull pranks on the first years a couple weeks ago?” I asked.

“How was I supposed to know that they didn’t know what acid pops were?” He exclaimed, running his hand through his dark hair. 

I had just recently noticed that I do the same when I am nervous. I guess that is a family trait. 

Speaking of family, I was very excited to see them in a couple of weeks. Though I guess I would also be seeing them at our quidditch matches. We had two more matches before we left for break. One against Slytherin and one against Ravenclaw.

“I guess,” I shrugged.

I felt bad for the first years. How were they supposed to know not to trust Sirius and James who were giving out free candy? That was only one of the many tricks they had pulled in the last month. The Marauders had also changed the hair of the Slytherin quidditch team to bright red and gold. They looked spectacular. Well, I might be a little biased.

“Here are your refills,” The kind waitress smiled at us. 

“Thank you,” We responded, both smiling wide at the waitress.

I drizzle ketchup and mustard on my chips, creating a beautiful masterpiece of bright yellow and red.

“What do you think of love?” James asked, his voice sounded airy. He was probably thinking of Lily. “Do you think we have soulmates?”

“I think,” I took a bite of chips. “That we have soulmates. But, I also believe that we can only live happily with these soulmates at the right time.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, for example, if Sirius is my soulmate.” James’ nose scrunched up at the thought. “It’s just an example. I think that we need to grow as individuals before being ready for each other. That right now is not the time for us to be together. We don’t fit together right now. But as we grow and learn, we will mould and eventually fit together. Like puzzle pieces.”

“Wow,” James gasped. “That’s deep.” 

“Yea,” I shrugged taking a sip of butterbeer. “I guess I just think that time and place is very important. Nothing can be forced.”

“That makes sense,” James nodded, taking a chip. “I don’t know how someone with so much wisdom can massacre chip like this.”

“I am telling you,” I argued. “Mustard and ketchup is the only way to eat chips.”

“Both you and dad are mad.”  
_____________________

Word Count: 2853

September 29, 2020


	29. Amortentia

The next week passed by very quickly. Today, the Marauders and the Ladies of Leisure would be giving each other Christmas gifts. I was very excited to give them mine. 

For the holidays, I coloured my hair an emerald green and a fiery red. I had it split down the middle of the two colours. I was so happy that magic gave me the ability to change my hair whenever I wanted. Magic made it so that even as my hair grew, the colour would stay as vibrant as the day I cast the spell.

My hair was still a little damp, from my shower, but it was tightly woven into two braids so I did not notice them as much. I had to remember to get more vanilla body wash before I got back, I had used the last of it during my shower. Now that I thought of it, I should probably get some more lavender shampoo as well. 

I threw on a red and green striped onesie and grabbed my bag of gifts. Before I left I looked back to my bed. The mysterious package that I had gotten from the post office sat on my bed. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to open it or not. Well, that was a lie. I wanted to open it. The curiosity of what it is, was eating away at my sanity. But, I was afraid. What could it be? Who was my old flame?

I made my way to the Gryffindor common room with my bag full of presents and treats. I had decided earlier to not put on any makeup, rather leave my face bare. 

“Lithe!” Lily, or rather Foxy exclaimed as she saw me walk down the stairs. “I love your hair.”

She had helped me the night before to get the perfect middle part. 

“Thanks, Foxy!” I winked at her.

I ran over to the fireplace where everyone was gathered in a sort of circle on the floor. I sat down between Foxy and Remus. Remus shot me a grin as I sat beside him.

“Nice pj’s,” Remus smiled.

I looked over to see that the whole group was wearing the same ones as I was. 

“Haha,” I laughed. “It was almost like we planned this.”

“We did plan this,” James rolled his eyes, a smirk present on his face. 

James was sitting on the other side of Lily, Sirius was next to him. Then sat Marlene, Kat, Peter and Nina who was on the other side of Remus.

“Alright,” Marlene piped up with a smile. “How should we do this?”

I was still unsure of how I felt about them. Sirius and Marlene had spread such nasty things about me. I think that I forgave them. Marlene had confronted me during the week and apologized. But, I don’t think things will ever be as they were.   
Right now, all of the presents sat in the middle. All laid out. We had decided as a group that we would put the names of who they were for and who they were from on it. 

“Here,” Sirius said as he stood up. “I’ll pass everyone a present and we’ll all open them at the same time.”

Everyone in the circle nodded, agreeing with this method.

“Here,” I said passing Sirius my bag. “Start with mine.”

“Alright,” He smirked a mischievous glint in his eye. “Are you sure you want me to open your gift in front of everyone?”

“Why wouldn’t she?” James asked, I could hear his voice deepen as his overprotective brother instincts took place.

“Because,” Sirius shrugged looking back at James. “It may be something for my eyes only.”

“Like what?” James glared at his best friend. 

“Handcuffs?” Marlene replied innocently. 

I toppled on to Remus laughing. I was holding myself against him for support.

“In your dreams,” I managed to wheeze out between laughs.

“Oh, how right you are,” He replied, shooting me a wink.

“Oi,” James shouted chucking jelly bean at him. “That’s my sister you scoundrel.”

“I know, I know,” Sirius grinned while being pelted by jelly beans. 

Sirius grabbed my bag and passed all of the presents around. He then proceeded to sit back down next to James. James elbowed him. A glare was very prominent on his face. 

“Alright,” I said, loudly. “On my count.”

Everyone held the varying sized boxes in their hands. 

“One.”

I looked around the room, anticipation covered their faces. 

“Two.”  
Sirius gave me a big grin. His fingers twiddled around the box. He was biting his lip in anticipation.

“Three.” 

Everyone tore through the wrapping paper. 

“Oh my god,” Lily gasped.

“This is beautiful.”

“I love this.”

“Thank you so much.”

“Thank you.”

“Thank you, Lithe,” Remus said, pulling me into a hug.

“I thought that we should all have matching bling,” I laughed. “Smell them.”

“Smell them?” James asked. 

“Yea,” I nodded. “Smell them.”

“Lithe,” James said looking at me suspiciously. “If this is some prank you are trying to pull-”

“Just trust me,” I grinned.

“But-”

“It smells like quidditch gear,” Nina stated. “And fire whisky. There’s also,” She paused. “Some flowers, like a rose, maybe?” She paused, taking a deep breath. “I think I also smell citrus.”

I wondered why Nina had smelled quidditch gear. She wasn’t on the Quidditch team and from what I knew, she had never talked about anyone that she fancied. I was sure that she never fancied anyone. 

“Mine smells like parchment,” Lily replied. “Freshly cut grass. Chocolate chip cookies and,” She took a deep breath. “I also smell the forest.”

Chocolate chip cookies? The forest? That was a strange combination. I mean, combined with parchment, which was her favourite smell. Along with freshly cut grass. I almost thought she was talking about James. I mean, besides the first two points. Our parents would always bring us chocolate chip cookies and James’ broomstick smelt like the woods. Like it reeked of the smell. But, Lily didn’t like my brother. Right?

“I smell,” James said, taking a deep breath. “Some sort of flower, honey? I think. And books, like the library.”

Well, that was definitely about Lily. The flowers he was smelling was lilies. Lily’s signature perfume was lily scented. She started to wear it as a joke but she eventually fell in love with the scent. As for the honey, Lily eats honey whenever she can. On toast, in her tea, even on chicken nuggets. 

“Hmm,” Kat hummed. “I smell leather, freshly washed linen,” She took another deep breath. “I also smell a man’s cologne, it smells like-” She cut herself off, a blush covering her cheeks. “Normal cologne. A normal cologne that a lot of guys wear.”

My gaze flung over to Kat. She knew exactly who’s cologne it was. She was holding out on us. 

“Who’s cologne?” I asked with a big grin. 

“I, uh, I don’t, uh, know,” Her blush deepened to a red. 

“Oh really?” Marlene joined in. “So, who’s this mystery person that smells like a normal cologne, freshly washed linen and leather?”

“Shut up,” Kat groaned. “Can you help put on my necklace?” She asked Marlene.

“Ok, ok,” I laughed. “Who’s next?”

“I-I’ll go,” Peter stammered. “I smell lemons and flowers,” He started to grin. “I smell butterbeer and ginger.”

He was most likely smelling the Hufflepuff girl that he had been hanging out with this year.

“Well,” Remus piped up. “I smell quidditch gear,” I watched as he inhaled deeply. “I smell ink and parchment. I smell vanilla and,” His eyebrows furrowed. “Is that lavender?”

“Funny,” Marlene smiled. “I smell almost the exact same. Quidditch gear, vanilla and lavender. I also smell chocolate liqueur.”

“What a coincidence,” Sirius’ jaw was tense as he inhaled deeply. “I smell vanilla, lavender and quidditch gear as well. But,” He took a deep breath. “I smell, freshly cut grass and murky pond water,” A grin was on his face. “I also smell leather. Of course, I also smell butterbeer and chips, drizzled with ketchup and mustard.”

I looked between the three of them in confusion. What were the odds that they smelled the same things? I mean, I guess that when you hang out so much your favourite smells will be the same as your best mates. It was strange. 

“Oh really?” I rolled my eyes at Sirius. “You smell my order at The Three Broomsticks?”

“Of course,” Sirius smiled broadly. “You’ve been getting it for as long as I’ve known you. There have been so many moments associated with that smell.”

“Aww,” I sighed. “Padfoot, that was very sweet.”

“However,” He shrugged with a smirk. “That smell could be the result of the years of it being burned into my nostrils.”

“Ah,” I rolled my eyes. “There’s the stupid remarks that I am used to.”

“Ok, ok, Lithe,” Sirius grinned as he looked over to me. It looked like there was fear in his eyes. Though I wasn’t sure what there was to be afraid of. “What do you smell?”

I tugged lightly at the chain, trying to bring it closer to my nose to no avail. The chain was too short to reach.

“Here,” Remus said passing me his ring, in its’ box. 

“Thank you,” I smiled, taking the box from him. 

I took a deep breath. There were so many smells that it was hard to distinguish what each of them were. Though they all blended beautifully. 

“I smell,” I said with my eyes closed. What was it? “Leather?” 

Did I smell the leather from the leather jacket in my room? Or possibly like the leather used in our quidditch gear? Both of these were an option. I simply adored the big leather jacket in my room and quidditch was one of my favourite activities.

“Parchment, ink and old books.” 

I did love the smell of them. It reminded me of when Remus, Lily and Sirius were catching me up on my studies. When I wasn’t sitting with Sirius in class and he would charm some parchment to fly over to my desk. Sometimes the charm made the paper into a paper plane, sometimes it would appear to be a butterfly. He would write these horrid poems, that would always make me laugh. I kept every one of them. I had a box dedicated to his notes.

“I smell freshly cut grass and a pond.” 

I believe that that smell was from our spot under the big tree that overlooked the school’s lake. Where we would all hang out when it was warm. I remembered when I learned my first spell. Colovaria. How I had made the coke can grey.

“I smell cologne.” 

I think it was multiple colognes. Though, I could never be too sure. They each had different elements to them. One smelled of smoke, while the other smelled like the forest. There was also a smell, like cashmere.

“And finally,” I took a deep breath. It didn’t take long to figure out this scent. “Butterbeer. My favourite. Also, I have some candy for each of you.”

I passed each of them some candy that I had bought for them. 

For Sirius, 5 pieces of Drooble Gum.

For Remus, Peter and James, a Chocolate Cauldron.

For Lily and Nina, 2 Sugar Quills. 

For Marlene, 2 Mice Pops.

For Kat, a box of Bertie Bott’s Beans.

I had also gotten my brother a Chocolate Frog and a Peppermint toad.

“Well,” James said shaking his head. He looked over at me. “Thanks Goober, for these fabulous presents. I doubt mine will be able to top them.”

James grabbed his presents from the middle. The wrapping was appalling but I know that he tried his best. 

“Though, I think everyone will enjoy them,” James grinned. 

“Hmm, I wonder what mine will be,” I grinned, knowing the candy that I will be getting from my dear brother.

In the end, James had given me 15 Drooble Gum, a Chocolate Frog and a polaroid camera, along with a bunch of films. It was incredible! It was a muggle device, so the pictures weren’t moving but it was amazing none the less. 

I had received a new jumper from Lily, it was maroon with stars all over it. It was very frayed and I was in love with it. It looked so comfortable. 

From Kat, I got some vanilla perfume. 

Nina had gotten me a notebook, the cover black and was dusted with stars. 

Marlene got me some red lipstick, my favourite. She had also slipped me a bottle of chocolate liqueur. 

From Peter, was a book of fairy tales from Brother Grimm. Apparently, it was about the original fairy tales with dark endings, where happy endings aren’t always the case.

Remus had gotten me some pew fountain pens; they were the good kind too. The ink would easily glide onto the paper into dark black letters. Accompanying that was a few notebooks. It was an amazing gift. I was so happy that he was so thoughtful. I really did need new pens; my old ones were almost out of ink. These pens were quite the upgrade.

“Thank you, Remus,” I smiled as I threw my arms around his neck. “I really appreciate these. How did you know I needed more pens?”

“Well, I,” He stammered. His body was tense but eventually, I felt him relax into the hug, letting his arms fall around my waist. “Pens are always good to have. You can never really have enough.”

“That is so true.”

I pulled away. 

When I looked at Remus his cheeks were tinted a slight pink. I wondered if I crossed a boundary or something. Maybe he wasn't used to female contact.

“Here,” Sirius said from in front of me. He was passing me a couple of wrapped presents. I had to say, they were very well wrapped. 

Sirius then moved on to the rest of the group, passing out more items. 

“Alright,” Sirius sighed. “Everyone can open their presents.”

I ripped off the wrapping paper of the smallest box to reveal a ring. It was adorable. The ring was very plain. A silver ring with a dark circle. On the circle was a constellation. 

“Is that the Andromeda constellation?” I asked him. A grin was spreading on my face.

“Yea,” His cheeks flushed. “When I saw it, I immediately thought of you.”

“Aww,” I sighed. “Thank you, Sirius.”

“There’s more,” Sirius jutted his chin towards the other two boxes in my lap.

I opened the second box. It was a bit bigger than the first one. Upon unwrapping it, I noticed that it was another constellation. One of the stars in the constellation was much bigger than the rest. The constellation looked like a stick figure with a missing arm and head.

“What is this?” I asked.

“Well,” I felt Sirius’ breath on my neck. He had placed himself between Lily and I, since Lily and I were so close, Sirius was practically glued to my side. “That is the Canis Major,” He pointed to the big star. “And that is the star, Sirius.”

“That is so sweet.”

“Open it.”

I did as he said and saw that there were loads of Drooble Gum inside the box.

“Wow,” I gasped. “Now I have a space to store my stash of gum.”

I set down the box on the floor and turned to the last wrapped present. It looked like a framed photo but it was very thick and it was soft. 

“This one kind of goes along with James’ present,” Sirius said before I unwrapped the present.

It was a photobook. A had a black cover and had some stars covering it. In bubble letters, it said “shoot for the stars” across the top.

“I know it’s a little cheesy but-”

“It’s not cheesy,” I replied. “It’s perfect, I’ll be able to document our time together.”

I pulled Sirius into a tight hug. I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck as he wrapped around my waist.

“Thank you, Sirius,” I whispered in his ear.

“Not a problem, sunshine,” He murmured back.

I took a deep breath. Smoke and leather. He smelt of smoke and leather. He also had a hint of sweetness from the chocolate frog he had just eaten. 

I pulled back, a little flustered. 

I grabbed my camera from the pile of presents and stood up.

“Everyone say cheese!” I exclaimed, holding the camera up to my eye.

“Cheese!” Was chorused through the group as they got together for the picture. 

After snapping the photo I waited for the film to develop, shaking it vigorously in my hand. I was excited to see the first of many pictures.

I sat back down in the circle. 

“Pass me the camera,” Sirius said, reaching out. 

“Ok.”

I passed him the camera and he pulled me in for a side hug. I stuck my tongue out and winked for the photo, while Sirius crossed his eyes with puckered lips. 

“Wait,” Lily said. “There’s still some presents left.”

“Oh,” Remus said, standing to go over to them. 

Remus reached down, picking them up. There were three small packages left. They looked to be around the size of the jewelry boxes I had given out.

“They’re for Grayson.”

“Who are they from?” 

“Well,” Remus replied looking at the tags. “This one,” He held up the smallest of the bunch, it was wrapped the same way the one that was currently sitting on my bed looked. “Says that it is from an old flame.”  
_____  
Word Count: 2929  
October 4, 2020


	30. Christmas

An old flame? Another present form an old flame? 

“The others are blank, though the handwriting,” Remus looked at Sirius. “Is different.”

Remus walked over, passing me the three packages. 

“Oh,” Marlene cooed. “Someone has some secret admirers.”

I smiled before tearing into the first package. I started with the one with the one that had very familiar handwriting. It was pretty long, as if a bracelet was inside. 

The first thing I saw when opening the box was a note.   
Hey Sunshine, I hope this will help you forgive me for the past mistakes that I have made.  
-Sirius

Underneath the note were tickets to Elton John. They were for December 23, 1974. Two days before Christmas.

“Oh my god,” I exclaimed. “Sirius!” 

I pulled Sirius into a tight hug. 

“Thank you so much!” 

“Haha,” He laughed. “It was no big deal.”

“No big deal?” I asked incredulously. “These are Elton John tickets! This is a big deal.”

“I am glad you think so,” He smiled.

“You got her Elton John tickets?” James asked. “What about me?”

“Well,” Sirius ran a hand through his thick hair. “Good thing I got 6.”

“Six?” I asked. Looking around, there were a lot more than 6 of us.

“For James, Lily, Marlene and Remus,” Sirius replied. “Peter isn’t a fan of crowds or loud noises.”

“Don’t worry,” Kat said. “Sirius doesn’t know us well enough to be buying us concert tickets.” 

“Oh.”

I grabbed another present. This one was shaped like the first one. I opened it to see a bookmark. It was a silver chain with a black wolf’s paw at the end of it.

“Remus?” I looked over at the brown-haired boy. “Is this from you?” 

“Yea,” A blush settled across his cheeks. “I guess I forgot to put my name on it. Haha. I saw it and thought it was a cool gift.”

“It’s marvelous,” I replied giving him another hug. “Thank you.”

“Not a problem, Lithe.”

I held the last one in my hand. I felt uneasy. Like I shouldn’t be getting this gift. My stomach twisted as I opened it.

There was a small note inside the box. 

Grayson,   
A symbol of my devotion to one of the woman that has ever shown me love and compassion.  
-An Old Flame

Under the note was a pair of silver earrings. They were shaped like two snakes with emerald green eyes. Their bodies would wrap around my ear while the head was where it would be at the base of the ear, the back of the head had the needle that would go through my piercing. 

“Who gave me this?” I asked the group.

I looked from side to side but no one spoke up.

“This isn’t funny,” I said. 

I was scared. This is the second time that I got a present from this secret admirer and I had no clue who they were.

“Lithe, what is it?” Sirius asked from beside me.

“Yea,” Remus added. “What’s the matter?”

“Goober, is someone bothering you?” James asked.

“This is the second time that I’ve gotten a present from an old flame,” I replied. “I have no clue who they are.”

“You’ve been getting presents from them for a while,” James replied. “I’m not sure who they are, but they’ve been sending you presents since your first year.”

“What?”

“Yea,” Lily nodded. “You have always gotten these presents.”

“This is insane.”

“It’s creepy,” James nodded. “But, we’ve never been able to find out who keeps sending them. The packages always seem to find you.”

“What do our parents say?” 

“Well,” James shuffled awkwardly. He ran a hand through his hair. “They just think that it’s someone from your past, er, your future.”

I clenched my jaw. This was very creepy. 

“This is the second present that I’ve gotten,” I shook my head. 

“You normally get a few around Christmas,” James nodded.

“And no one is concerned about this? This is just an accepted thing? A mystery person gives me a present and no one cares?” I exclaimed, started to feel my breath become laboured.

“Hey, hey,” Sirius said, wrapping his arm around me to keep me grounded. “We aren’t concerned because you told us not to be. You said that you knew who was sending them. You told us he was an old friend from your past and we don’t need to worry.”

“Yea,” James added. “Trust me, if you hadn’t told us that, there would have been a manhunt.”

James said this with a soft smile, but his eyes told me he wasn’t joking. It was quite funny how James would always try to hide what he truly meant with jokes. He would never outright tell me that he cared. Well, not unless I was having a melt-down, or no one else was around. He never wanted anyone to see into his heart, to see how much he truly cared about things. Though, people close to him knew.

“Dad was very concerned when the first ones showed up to our house when we were 11,” James continued. “He was about to call the ministry when you told him that you knew who they were from. You knew the person, that he was an old peer. Though, you never told us how you figured that out.”

I thought back to my talk with Hagrid. Was the person sending these Newt Scamander? Newt and I went to school together. Could he be the one sending me these presents? I would have to go and talk to Hagrid, maybe he would have the answers I was looking for.

“Have I ever met my old friends? Have they ever come to pay me a visit?” I asked. 

I thirsted for more knowledge of my past life. These answers could give me details as to who the mysterious old flame could be.

“Yes,” Remus nodded. “Some have an annual drop-in. Though, most know that it is your first jump this year and would hate to spoil anything. So, you might not get many visitors this year.”

“I met Hagrid,” I replied. 

Hagrid and I had gone to school together in the 30’s to 40’s, though he was expelled. He never really told me much more than that.

“Lithe,” James looked from Sirius to Remus. “Hagrid can’t fill you in on your history, no one can.”

“If they do,” Lily added. “It could change to course of how everything happens. It could change our live as we know it.” 

“Alright.”

I wondered, again, if this mystery person was Newt Scamander. I was astounded to know that we were friends in the past. He seems like such a historical figure, the fact that we were friends astounds me. I wonder how close we were. From the picture Hagrid had shown me, we had been quite close.

Tonight, I will have to ask Hagrid about it. He might know who is sending me these presents.

“Look how good this one turned out,” Sirius nudged me, holding the photo up to my face. “You look adorable. I mean, completely ridiculous-”

“Oi!” I protested. 

“But, adorable none the less,” Sirius continued with a smirk. 

“It’s not like you look any less ridiculous,” I argued, glaring at him. Although, my lips twisted into a smirk.

“Don’t deny it Potter,” Sirius said leaning in. “Even with the crossed eyes, you think I look devilishly handsome.”

I mean I did, but there’s no way that I would tell him that.

“Oh, Black,” I sighed, snatching the photo out of his hand. 

If he was going to be such a scoundrel he doesn’t get to keep the photograph.

“Oi!” He replied trying to reach for the photo.

As if I didn’t grow up with James. If he wanted the photograph he was going to have to try harder than to just try and take it from me.  
“That’s where you’re wrong,” I shook my head.

I got up, he quickly followed suit. I was holding the photograph tauntingly out of his reach, behind my back. I had my other hand pressed against his chest, controlling his distance. 

“I do not find you devilishly handsome,” I said leaning in very close. “You’re more like a cute little puppy.”

I cocked an eyebrow as I stared into his stormy grey eyes. 

“Oh?” He asked as he held my gaze. I could practically see the wheels turning in his head. “So, you don’t think I am attractive?”

I wasn’t sure what he was getting at. Though, I was sure that he had some sort of plan, some angle that he was working to get to me.

“No,” I shook my head.

He leaned in closer, his face was very close to mine. Our lips were mere inches apart. If I moved forward they would touch. I would be kissing Sirius. Had Sirius and I kissed before? It would certainly be the first time that I would be kissing him. 

My eyes flickered down to his lips. They were parted ever so slightly. His lips were the shade of coral on the beach. A pale pink from a distance, so pale that it almost looked white. But, once you got close you could see the richness of the pink. How his bottom lip held a deep pink in its ridges.

“Gotcha’,” Sirius whispered as he reached around me and snatched the photo out of my hand. “Thanks, sunshine.”

He quickly kissed my cheek before walking away, polaroid in hand. 

What a bloody scoundrel. He had the audacity to use my emotions against me. How could I be so foolish?

I slumped back over beside Lily. Sighing as I start to pack all the wonderful presents back into my bag. 

“It’s alright,” Lily said, putting an arm around me and pulling me close. 

“I can’t believe I fell for that,” I shook my head, as I buried my head in the crook of her neck. “I’m so stupid.”

“You’re not,” Lily laughed. I felt he whole body shake. “He took advantage of your weakness,” She patted my head softly. “Your love for him.”

“Yea,” I sighed. 

Loving Sirius Black was something that I couldn’t deny. Even when he was being a total arse, I could never truly hate him. 

“Did you get more presents from this mystery person?” Lily asked loudly with a wink. “Maybe he wants to be a suitor.”

“Yea,” I replied, knowing that she wanted to make Sirius jealous. “I have another present from him in my room.”

My heart wasn’t quite in it. Sirius could turn into such an arse when he was jealous. As Lily would put it, he could be such a toe rag. James and Sirius were quite a pair. Though, I also knew that I was quite like them. 

When I am angry, I also lash out. I get angry and I yell. I never mean to hurt others but when I am caught up in my emotions it’s like I lose control. Not a valid excuse. I am working on controlling this. I make sure to take responsibility for my actions and apologize to whoever I may have lashed out on. 

“Go get it,” Lily demanded. “Have you opened it yet?”

“No,” I shook my head. I got up to go and grab the small box from my room. “I’ll get it now, I guess.”

It was a short trip to the dorm. I didn’t necessarily go fast. I wasn’t too interested in what a mystery person was getting me. I’d hoped that they would be up front with who they are and tell me why they are giving me these gifts. And why they aren’t including their name.

The few things that I have gathered from the sole gift that I have opened that it is a Slytherin. Or, maybe someone who really likes snakes. The silver earrings with green eyes added to my first guess of them being Slytherin. That was the colouring of their house. Maybe they were from Trevor. Though, I wouldn’t call him an old friend, we’ve been friends since last year. 

I grabbed the box from off of my bed and examined it. It was perfectly wrapped in bright red wrapping paper. The tag saying from an old flame. It was creepy.

“Open it!” Lily exclaimed as I came back into the circle.

None of my friends had broken off. They were all waiting expectantly for me to open the present. They all leaned closer in anticipation.

Under the paper was a box. It was quite similar to the box that the earrings came in. When I opened the box, an emerald was the first thing that I saw. The next was two snakes. It was a beautiful ring. It looked like there were two snakes fighting over the emerald. Both snakes made up the ring, holding the emerald perfectly in place. It was quite beautiful really. 

There was a note attached to the top of the box. 

Grayson,  
Fighting for you to stand with me in the end, before it is too late.  
-An Old Flame

That was just as ominous as the first note. The end of what? 

“Wow,” Lily gasped taking the ring out of my hand. “This is gorgeous.”

“Bloody hell,” James said moving closer towards Lily. “Does this bloke have a budget or what?”

“You can say that again,” I mumbled. 

It wasn’t that I didn’t like having nice things or that these weren’t very nice. It’s just that I don’t like being given things when I don’t know who is giving them to me. For example, if these were from Sirius, then I wouldn’t mind, but, I would want him to announce that it’s him. Though, since this has been going on for years, I highly doubt that this is Sirius. Or really, any of my other friends now that I think about it. It must be someone from my future.

I wonder if the records have any information about me. Well, I assume that they will, but, I wonder if I can access them. Maybe I could find information about my previous experiences at Hogwarts.

“Put it on,” Marlene said as Lily handed me back the ring. 

“Yea,” Kat nodded. “Put on the earrings too.”

What finger should I put it on? I felt that if I put it on my ring finger on my left hand it wouldn’t be right. That spot was not meant for some stranger, rather a gentlemen or gentlewoman who deserves the title of being my partner. 

Hesitantly, I slipped the ring onto my right ring finger. It was a perfect fit. The person who sent this to me must know my sizes very well.

I put in the earrings soon after.

“Does he often send me such extravagant things?” I asked the group, not really knowing who would know.

“If so,” Kat piped up. “Where can I sign up for a man like that?”  
“Usually,” James shrugged. “They send a ballgown for when we get invited to the annual masquerade on New Years, the jewelry you get now are to go along with the gown.” 

I raised my eyebrows. Of course, we were going to a masquerade at Christmas. As if this was some fantasy book where the author wanted to hide the identity of a character of interest that I would be talking to during said time. Only to later reveal this character and it be a shock to whomever was reading. 

“On our birthday, a cake is always delivered. It’s always extremely elegant and delicious. Along with some new clothes and shoes. Most of your clothes are from this mystery person,” James continued.

“So,” I tilted my head, my eyebrows scrunched together. “I have a personal shopper.”

“Pretty much,” James chuckled.

After another 30 minutes of lounging about we decided to split off and go about our day. 

I decided that I would go and catch up with Hagrid for a late lunch. I threw on a large green jumper and some black leggings before throwing on some boots and making my way out. I made sure to grab the sac of creature food that I had bought for Hagrid.

When I arrived at the hut, I noticed conversation going on. Someone was already there. I shifted the bag of feed to my hip and knocked on the door.

“Grayson,” Hagrid said cheerily. “Come one in.”

A jolly grin covered his face. Hagrid was wearing his apron, which was covered in flour. He was baking again.

As I walked into the room I finally saw who Hagrid had been previously talking to. It was an older man. He looked to be in his 70’s, maybe more than that.

His eyes lit up as I walked into the room. A grin covered his face. 

“Grayson, my dear,” A child-like tone to his voice. “You haven’t changed a bit.”

My mouth fell open as I slowly looked from him to Hagrid. I hadn’t a clue as to who this man was.

“I was just coming ‘round for my yearly Christmas visit,” The strange man said. His arms moved sporadically as he talked, as if his joints were as new as if he were my age. “Though, I am sure that we will see each other again at the New Years masquerade. Well, unless we do not find each other due to the masks, then we will not see each other. Although, you are quite hard to miss. Your gowns are certainly spectacular.”

“Uh, th-thank you,” I stuttered. 

I wasn’t sure who this man was but he was very energetic and talkative.

“Newt,” Hagrid chuckled. “Yer’ scarin’ the poor girl. She’s only just met ya’.”

“Oh right,” Newt recomposed himself. “My name is Newt. Newt Scamander. We went to school together back in the early 1900’s. Started together in 1908, to be exact.” 

His smile brought me back to the photo of us that Hagrid had shown me. This was Newt Scamander. The author, the magizoologist, and most importantly, my friend.

“Hello Newt,” I smiled.

I was still standing awkwardly at the door. There was a seat available next to him but I was still a bit nervous to approach him. Though, his smile was reassuring me that things would be ok. 

“Come sit down,” Newt smiled, patting the seat next to him. “I have so much to tell you.”

“You do?” I asked as I went to sit next to him.

As I sat next to him I noticed his bright blue eyes. Full of light as he looked at me. It was so pure, it was magical, as if he never truly aged but this was all just makeup. 

“Yes, yes,” He nodded. “But, first,” His eyes stared widely into mine. “You must tell me about your year so far. I understand that this is your first year? That must be exciting. How are your classes? What was I like to have to learn four years at the same time? I couldn’t imagine having to do that along with having to orient yourself in this world.”

I peered around the room trying to spot what Hagrid was up to. It was unlike him not to be a part of the conversation. He was currently mixing things together in the kitchen, preparing a concoction that is unknown to my sense of smell.

“It’s been tough,” I shrugged. The more I talked with Newt, the more I felt at ease. “Luckily, I have tons of friends who are making everything go along smoothly. No big mistakes have been made. It’s hard not knowing who knows about my situation and who doesn’t. Also, figuring out how everyone fits into my life.”

“I understand,” Newt nodded. 

“What have you been up to recently?” I asked.

I was genuinely excited to know. He was always on some adventure with magical creatures. His job was so cool. It would be such an amazing job to do. Although, I don’t think that I could ever do it. It took a certain type of person to be able to care for all types of creatures and understand how to care for them. Newt was an extremely talented person.  
“Well, recently I’ve tracked down a pack of Hippogriffs.”

Newt went on to explain how he had found a herd of Hippogriffs. He said how one of them was injured and how he treated them. He also showed me a photo of a baby Hippogriff, there were a few younger ones in the pack. 

His face lit up, kind of like when he looked at me, but it was in a different way. When he looked at me, his expression was soft. When he talked about the Hippogriffs his expression was filled more so with excitement. 

My mind raced back to my first day at Hogwarts. How I believed that this was some sort of dream. I can’t believe that I didn’t think that this was real. All because of a surrealistic dream. Well, I guess there’s also the fact that I had just jumped from being 11 all the way to being 14. It was a big change. My mind must have created that fantasy to make sense of it all.

“When we went to Hogwarts,” Newt started, he had a faraway look in his eyes. A small smile played on his lips. “We would explore the forbidden forest during our free periods. Sometimes we would even explore them at night.”

“We would?” I asked, leaning closer to Newt.

I wasn’t very shocked that I had explored the forest with him. It was the fact that we would explore them at night. That was when the forest was the most dangerous.

“Yes,” Newt nodded, his smile growing as he stared at me. “It wasn’t hard to convince you to join me, you were always quite rebellious.”

“Rebellious?” I asked, from what I had heard from the Marauders and Lily, I was quite the studious student.

“Now Newt,” Hagrid said in a warning tone. “You must be careful in what you are telling her, one slip an’ you could be changin’ everythin’.”

“But hasn’t this already happened?” I asked. “How could I change the past?”

“It’s very complicated,” Newt explained. “This situation is very delicate. Your future resides in the past. We can’t simply tell you what will happen in your future or else we may alter it.”

“But if it’s already happened what is the big deal?” 

“There is a sort of balance,” Newt explained. “If there is a change to what happened in the past it will have a ripple effect and alter the reality as we know it. “

“For example,” Hagrid said, setting down a tray of tea and slightly burnt biscuits. “If we told you about the bad thing that happens, you may prevent it. This will cause you to be less rebellious when you meet Newt.” My eyes widened; Newt sputtered. Hagrid covered his mouth with his hand as he realized what he said. “I shouldn’t have said that.” He looked back over to me and shook his head. “Should not have said that.”

“What bad thing happens?” I asked. 

I could feel a pit in my stomach. I was no longer hungry. My hands subconsciously rubbed circles in the palm of my hand. I knew that something bad was going to happen. Of course, something bad was going to happen. A child with different abilities never have an easy life.

“Hey,” Newt said, grabbing my hand. He held my hand between both of his. His palms easily covering my hands. “You’re ok. You’re safe.” He turned to Hagrid. “Is Norbert around? I’m sure he’d love to see Grayson.”

“Oh sure,” Hagrid said, going into the back room.

When he returned he had a small niffler in his hands. My little baby boy.

Norbert spied around; his eyes not yet adjusted from leaving his underground habitat. I wasn’t quite sure how Hagrid had an underground habitat but I wasn’t sure I needed to know. 

When Norbert’s eyes spied me, he jumped out of Hagrid’s large hands and scrambled to get over to me. His climbed up my body before reaching my neck, nuzzling his body into it. He made a blanket of my hair as he curled up. 

“There, there,” I murmured as I pet the small creature. “It’s good to see you.” I looked over to Hagrid. “What is going to happen?”

Hagrid opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by a knock at the door. 

Hagrid happily made his way over to the door. 

“Ah, Dumbledore, McGonagall,” Hagrid greeted, stepping aside so they could enter. “Glad you both could make it.”

“As if we could miss this,” Dumbledore smiled kindly. 

“Yes,” McGonagall agreed. “I’m afraid it has been far too long since our last meal together.”

“Indeed,” Hagrid nodded before returning to the kitchen. 

I wasn’t sure what he was making but it didn’t smell half bad. It smelled of turkey maybe? There were beans and corn. It was a strange combination in my mind but I was happy to get some food. Especially some made with love.

“Ah,” Hagrid muttered as he frantically pulled over some chairs and a table. He set the table down in front of Newt and I, the two chairs facing us on the other side of the table. “There you go. Please, sit down.”

McGonagall and Dumbledore both sat down, Dumbledore was in front of me, while McGonagall was in front of Newt.

“Newt,” Dumbledore said as he looked over to him fondly. “It is so good to see you. I do enjoy your visits.”

“Yes,” McGonagall nodded. “It has been quite a while since you last stopped by.” McGonagall looked from Newt to me. “I presume Hagrid and Ms. Potter have filled you in on the details.”

“Yes,” Newt nodded. For his age, his movements were very rapid. “I understand that this is Grayson’s first year.” Newt lightly grabbed my hand.

I still wasn’t use to people grabbing me, you’d think after hanging out with Sirius for so long that I would be. But, Newt’s actions seemed so sincere that I decided to make an exception. Just for him. 

“It is strange to meet an old friend before they have ever known you,” Newt’s eyes scanned my face. It was as if he was looking for a hint of acknowledgement. Like not knowing him was some sort of prank. “But, I am glad to have this time together.”

I looked away from his piercing eyes. It was odd. I was so young but yet I had routes in the early 1900’s. I have been alive before being born, before either my conception even. Possibly even before my mother’s conception. 

“So,” I turned to Newt. “We went to Hogwarts together?” I nodded slowly, as I tried to think of what that would be like. “We were friends.”

Newt inhaled quickly. He looked from McGonagall to Dumbledore then back to me. 

“We were,” Newt nodded slowly. “Friends, yes.” 

I looked over to my professors but they were simply watching us. As if they wanted to see how this unfolded.

“We were really good friends,” Newt explained. He was looking at me but his mind seemed to be somewhere else. 

Newt took out his wallet from his pocket. When he opened it, he pulled out a photograph.

It was of me; I believe that I was the same age that I was now. There were fairies and bowtruckles surrounding me. I had at least 5 bowtruckles on my shoulders and arms while fairies flew around my head. In the photo, I was looking around in amazement, laughing breathily as I looked at all of these fantastic creatures. 

“Wow,” I sighed. 

I looked so happy in the photo. In my element. As if I belonged in the forest surrounded by magical creatures.

“That was at the beginning of our fifth year,” Newt explained. “We had just found a cluster of bowtruckles with a group of fairies at the beginning of the year. We made it our mission to integrate the two groups and gain their trust. This picture was taking when we finally were able to gain their trust.”

Newt took the picture back, putting it back where he originally had it. 

“If I’m being honest, you were the reason that I graduated from Hogwarts,” Newt chuckled. 

“Really?” I asked, looking from Newt to McGonagall and then to Dumbledore.

“Now, now,” Dumbledore chided. “We must not get into detail. But,” He looked over to me, a twinkle in his knowing eyes. “You played a part into all of bringing us all together.”

“Albus,” Minerva warned through gritted teeth. “That is enough. She knows too much as it is.”

“What is the big deal?” I asked. “If it’s in the past hasn’t it already happened?”

“My dear,” Dumbledore began. “Time is not as linear as you believe. Even one simple change in the past could result in a drastic change in the future.”

“If we were to tell you about your future,” McGonagall explained. “It could change the way you go through your life, changing the way you act.”

“Alright,” I nodded slowly. “I won’t ask about it again.”

I guess after having this explained multiple times that I should get the hint. Leave my future alone. Let it happen when it happens. 

“Oh!” Newt exclaimed. “I was wondering if you would join me after New Year’s,” His eyes gazing at me softly. “I found a cluster of fairies and I would just love to show you.”

“I’d love to,” I smiled at Newt softly. 

“Alright,” Hagrid announced bringing over a huge plate of food. “Dig in.”

We all started to eat. I would never describe Hagrid as a good cook. But, this wasn’t half bad. 

“My, that’s quite a lovely ring,” Dumbledore said as I was reaching across the table. “Where did you get it?”

Dumbledore watched me carefully. He looked as if he was concerned. I knew this ring was bad.

My eyebrows furrowed as I looked at the ring. I got an uneasy feeling. Almost as if I were going to be sick. 

“It was a present,” I replied. “Though I am not quite sure who it is from.”

“I see,” Dumbledore responded. 

McGonagall looked over to Dumbledore. A fear plagued her face. 

“Do you know who it’s from?” I asked to no reply.

The room fell silent. Everyone fell still. Even Norbert was still. He laid silently on my shoulder, I thought that maybe he was asleep.

“What did the note say?” McGonagall asked.

“An old flame?” Dumbledore asked.

They were both looking at me with fear in their eyes. Fear of the person who sent me the ring maybe? 

“How did you know?” I asked.

“You’ve been getting stuff from him for as long as I’ve known you,” Hagrid replied. His lips were pursed together.

“You have been getting presents from him for a very long time,” Dumbledore said solemnly. 

“Has-has this,” McGonagall looked away for a moment as if she were collecting herself. “Has this person made any further contact than these presents?”

“Not that I am aware,” I shook my head. 

“You need to be extremely careful,” Newt replied. 

“Why?” I asked.

They shared a look. As if they were unsure if they should tell me this information. 

“This person,” Dumbledore said cautiously. “Is dangerous. We want to make sure that you are safe.”

“I believe that I can take care of myself,” I replied. “Sorry.” I realized that they were only trying to help. “I know that you are trying to help. But from what I can tell this person doesn’t want to hurt me. So, I don’t see the harm.”

“They may not want to hurt you,” Dumbledore warned. “But they are not the type of person that takes rejection so easily.”

“How did you get this?” McGonagall asked.

“The ring?” I replied. “It came for me in the post office.”

McGonagall sighed. The room started to look at ease. 

“But the earrings,” I pushed back my hair to reveal the snake earrings. “They were in a pile the pile of gifts for a gift exchange.”

At this, they all tensed.

“I’ll need to have a talk with all of the professors,” McGonagall said quietly to Dumbledore. But it was loud enough that the table could hear.

“Why?” I asked. 

“This person had access to your common room,” McGonagall said. “This is not good.”

“Could this just be from one of her friends?” Newt asked. “Could this not be some prank?”

“No,” Dumbledore replied. “It is him.”

“But I’ve been getting these presents for years,” I argued. “Why is it such a big deal now?”

“Ms. Potter,” McGonagall said calmly. “Over the past 3 years, you have gotten presents from this person, through owl’s, through the post, sometimes they may apparate in front of you. But, never has it been put into a pile of presents. As if it were from anyone else.”

“Am I being stalked?” I asked. 

James and my friends had brushed it off so casually earlier. I couldn’t believe that McGonagall and Dumbledore thought this was such a big deal. Did James not know everything that was going on?

“To put it simply, yes,” McGonagall said. “You are being watched. Most likely at all times. This person wants to keep a close eye on you.”

“Why me?” 

I could feel my heartbeat. I suddenly got the feeling of how my fingers were extending. As I filled my lungs with oxygen it didn’t ever feel like it was enough. Who was this person? Why was I so important to them?

“Drink,” Newt said as he brought my glass of water to my lips.

After a few big gulps of water, I felt my breathing relax.

“That’s better,” Newt brought a napkin up to my face and wiped away the stray tear that had fallen from my eyes. “Grayson, my dear, you asked why you,” Newt smiled at me softly. “You are the most compassionate person that I know. For creatures, for animals, and for people. Not many people can hate you. It just so happens that you were compassionate for someone very, well, very powerful.” Newt’s smile faded. He looked distraught. “This person is very dangerous. He may not want to hurt you at the moment but we may not know how he will feel in the future. The two of you were once very close and he is aware of your, uh, for lack of better word, your condition. He will want to use this to his advantage.”

“To do what?” I said exasperated. It was so tiring not knowing the details. “I am not some all-powerful wizard. I am a 14-year-old girl who can’t control in what year she lives. How is that important?”

“Because,” Dumbledore replied. “You know the future and that is powerful knowledge.”

I sighed as I slumped back into my seat. I hated all of these cryptic words. Why couldn’t I know? Maybe I could figure out who this person is and stop them from being so powerful. 

No! That’s exactly why they won’t tell me. I could deter how the world is at its current state. That would be very dangerous. I could create a world worse than it already is. Replace the dark lord with the darker lord. 

“Alright,” I furrowed my brows. “Wait, Dumbledore, how did you find out about my condition? I realize that I’ll have to tell you in the future and I’m not sure how.”

“Well,” Dumbledore smiled as we got away from the subject. “You didn’t have to tell me.”

“What?” I asked.

“The previous headmaster told me.”

“Yes,” Newt nodded. “Headmaster Phineas Nigellas Black was the first headmaster that you’ve been a student for. Though I don’t think that is the headmaster Dumbledore was referring to. He wouldn’t have been to accepting of your situation.”

“He was headmaster when I studied at Hogwarts,” Dumbledore said. “Though, it’s true, he was not the headmaster that I was referring to. I was referring to Armando Dippet.”

“He was out potions professor when we first went to Hogwarts,” Newt explained.

“Yes,” Dumbledore nodded. “He was a potions professor before he was headmaster. When you and Newt were in first year, Professor Malvoire, the divinations professor knew what you were. How you were trapped, a slave to time. She confronted you, I’m not quite sure how Armando got involved but they both protected your secret. Along with Newt.”

I nodded my head slowly. This was a lot of information to take in. 

“Please,” McGonagall pleaded. “Do not look up your previous years unless it is dire. As it is, we are trying not to bring attention to this.”

“Alright,” I nodded. “I will no longer look for information from my past.”

We continued to feast. Every so often I would slip Norbert some lettuce and other leafy greens to eat. 

The rest of my day was quiet. Well, until it was time to celebrate Christmas with Trevor, Thomas, Robert and Michael. 

“Lithe!” Trevor exclaimed as he dashed over to me.

His arms wrapped around my waist and he spun me in the air. 

“Hey Trevor,” I said as I pushed some hair behind my ear. “Have any predictions lately?”

“Hmm,” Trevor replied putting his pointer and middle finger to either sides of his forehead. “Only that you are going to love your present.”

“Oh good,” I laughed as he led me into the Slytherin common room.

It wasn’t often that we would meet in the others common room but the Gryffindor common room was going to be rowdy tonight. The Slytherin common room was almost always quiet. Not in a bad way, it was just different.

When we entered, there weren’t many people. I noticed the rest of the boys gathered on the sofa together.

“Hello boys,” I smirked as I sat myself down on the leather chair next to them. 

“Lithe!” Michael exclaimed as he waved frantically at me.

I laughed at his display as the other boys greeted me in suit. 

“So, here are your presents,” I tossed each of them a present before sitting back down in the chair. 

“You didn’t have to,” Luke said bashfully. 

“Of course, I did,” I replied, waving him off. “You guys are gonna love it.”

They each opened their presents. When they realized what it was, huge grins spread across their faces. 

“This is sick!” Thomas exclaimed.

“I love it!” Robert agreed. 

“Hug. Now,” Michael demanded getting up.

Michael stormed over, much to my protest and pulled me out of the chair. The next thing I knew, four pairs of arms were wrapped around me. It was nice to be in this position. Having so many people care about you. I was happy to be in my strange, strange life. 

“Alright,” Trevor said pulling away.

The rest of the guys followed suit and we all went back into our previous seats. Trevor leapt over the couch and grabbed a present from behind it. 

“I know it’s not much,” Trevor said as he walked over, present in hand. He wouldn’t meet my eye as he handed me the box. “It cannot possibly compare to your present. You truly outdid yourself.”

The box wasn’t necessarily heavy but, there was a weight to it. It was about as big as a carton of milk. It was covered in brown paper. It didn’t look very fancy. Not that I needed it to be. It wasn’t as if I was expecting anything. I didn’t need presents. I liked them, don’t get me wrong. But, I’d rather get thoughtful gifts than trinkets that will collect dust. 

“It’s from all of us,” Thomas piped up. 

The boys were sat up on the couch as Trevor took a seat on the arm of the chair. They all leaned in. Trevor was fidgeting with the end of my hair. I could tell they all were nervous.

“Well,” Michael said glaring at Thomas. “It was Trevor’s idea. We all thought-well, I won’t spoil it. Open it.”

“Don’t rush her,” Robert smacked Michael lightly on the arm.

I laughed and unwrapped the box. It was a box of van, the shoe brand. 

“Nice!” I exclaimed.

“It’s not shoes,” Trevor laughed. I squinted up at him. “Just open the box.”

When I opened the box, there was a microphone. It had the Andromeda constellation along the side. It was a black microphone with some dark purple patterns all over it. The constellation was a bright contrast to the dark background. It was gorgeous. But, I was very confused.

“What is this?” I asked.

“I believe that it is a microphone,” Thomas said with a big grin.

“No,” I said sarcastically as I rolled my eyes. “This,” I took the microphone out of the box and examined it dramatically. “This is a microphone? No way. Impossible. I don’t believe you.”

“Haha,” Trevor rolled his eyes. “You’re so funny.” He shifted in his seat, turning further towards me. “We are formally asking you to be our singer.”

“In the band that is,” Michael clarified. 

“No kidding,” Thomas replied to Michael. “I bet she thought that we just wanted her to sing whenever we wanted her to.”

“Haha,” Robert cackled. “What a lovely Christmas gift, being forced to sing for us.”

“Ah,” Thomas laughed. “Here’s your present. Now sing.”

I couldn’t help but join in. I leaned into Trevor as I laughed full-heartedly. It felt amazing. Being able to laugh without restraint. 

“Oi,” A voice rang through the air. “What are you chuckle heads laughing about?”

I composed myself before turning to the source of the interruption. There stood 5 Slytherin boys, dressed in their house robes as if they didn’t have anything better to wear. I recognized them, they were from our year, well besides Regulus. Snape was a part of their group; I didn’t recognize the rest of them. 

The one who had spoken was very pale, well, they all were. His face was very angular. Even more than Sirius. Though Sirius held light in his eyes whereas there was only darkness in this boy. He was creepy to say the least. There was no contrast to him, his eyes were a pale shade of blue and his hair was a pale blonde. It was as if he was stripped of all colour, like a sheet of paper.

“Nothing that concerns the likes of you,” Thomas replied. 

The boys seemed to get tense. This confirmed my suspicions that they were bad news. I was sad to see Severus and Regulus mixed in with this crowd. I knew that Lily wouldn’t be happy with Severus and when I talked to Regulus, he didn’t strike me as the type. He was dark and brooding, sure. But, Regulus didn’t strike me the same way that these boys do. They seemed dark while Regulus was a grey. 

“Shouldn’t be surprised that the blood traitor brings his filth into our common room,” The same boy said. 

The rest of his pack cackled at his joke. All except, Severus and Regulus, their faces remained stone cold. As if they were emotionless. 

I was shocked that Severus didn’t defend Lily. Lily was from a muggle family and yet, he was one of her closest friends. As if this term didn’t apply to them. 

Michael, Robert and Thomas tensed at the word. I was guessing they were muggle-born. Not that it mattered to me. It rather fuelled me. Angered me. 

“Why does that matter?” I exclaimed standing up. I carefully set the box down on the chair and approached the group. “Who gives a shit? I sure as hell don’t.”

“Look here,” The boy said in a teasing tone. “Lithe, is it?” His eyes were squinting into mine as if he could scare me. “Aggressive.” He stepped closer. “I like it.”

We weren’t close. I’d say maybe 6 feet between us. However, that was enough for all four boys to pull out their wands and step in front of me. As if I was to be protected. 

“Oh,” The boy said. “I see, she has a bunch of bodyguards. Or are you all screwing her? Has she been tainted by the mudbloods?” 

“Don’t talk about her like that,” Michael spat, getting very close to his face.

“Averyll shut your mouth,” Thomas said backing Michael up.

“From the sounds of it there’s more filth coming from your mouth,” I spat, pushing myself closer to them. There was still 3 of the boys in front of me. Trevor stood by my side.

“Oh, oh, oh,” The boy who I assumed was Averyll mused as he tried to push past the two boys to step closer to me. But the two boys held him back. His eyes were fixed on me as if he were a predator and I was his prey. “As fiery as your hair.”

He stepped back knowing the boys wouldn’t move out of his way. In a flash, he was gone. A cloud of black smoke replacing where he one was. A drastic change from his white features to the dark smoke. 

“Though,” Averyll’s voice chimed from behind me. “I much prefer your natural colour.”

As if on instinct, I turned around. Without another thought my fist collided with his face. It was as if my body was moving without my knowledge. As if I was a passenger and another person was taking over. Lithe was taking over.

My fist connected with his jaw sending a terrifyingly loud noise through the room. Though, Averyll didn’t show that he was in pain. His jaw was red but the only emotion on his face was shown through his cold eyes and sinister grin.

“Never knew you had it in you,” Averyll smirked as he stepped closer. “I like a woman who isn’t afraid to hit back.” He winked. 

In comparison, Averyll was a 4 to Sirius’ 10. Hell, he made Peter look more appealing. Just the thought of someone so vile wanting to be with me made my stomach curl. 

“Come near me again and I’ll do more than hit.”

“Hot,” Averyll said as he looked me up and down.

“Careful Averyll,” Severus said in a monotone voice. “That one,” He paused. “Affiliates closely with Regulus’ brother.”

This fact only seemed to intrigue him more. His eyebrow cocked as he looked from Severus to me.

“Is that true?” Averyll asked, his creepy gaze resting plainly on my face. “You and Sirius are an item?” His voice changed into a more high-pitched tone as he teased me. “Is he your boyfriend? Your soul mate? Your one true love?”

“What’s it to you?” Trevor asked plainly. 

I knew that all the boys were getting tired of him and his crew. I was as well; he was getting on my last nerve. 

“Let’s go, Averyll,” Regulus muttered. He must’ve been tired of this as well. “We must not keep him waiting.”

Him? Who’s him?

“Plus,” Severus added. “You know he won’t like that you’re talking to her.”

“Especially the way that you are,” One of the other boys said.

“What do you mean?” I turned around. “Who doesn’t want you talking to me?”

“Right,” Averyll said. I turned back to look at him. “I should probably get going.”

“Wait!” I yelled. I grabbed his wrist keeping him in his place. He turned back, looking at me. “Please tell me. Why would someone care that you’re talking to me? Who is the person that cares that you’re talking to me?”

“Don’t worry love, nothing for you to worry about.” His grin left me with an uneasy feeling in my gut.

His hand brushed off my hand from his arm. His hand held mine for a moment longer. His thumb brushed against my knuckles. When he reached the ring, he paused. He looked down at the ring. An eery grin broke on his lips.

“Glad to see the ring fits, love.”  
____________________  
Word Count: 8018  
October 25, 2020


	31. The Chase

Averyll tore his arm away from mine and walked out of the room. The rest of his pack followed him out. 

“Are you ok?” Trevor asked, taking my hand into his. 

“I’m alright,” I sighed. “It was weird more than anything else.” 

The boys nodded and we returned to where we were sitting. They seemed tense. I mean, I was too, it was strange that Averyll knew who got me the ring. Did he get me the ring? Did someone close to him get me the ring? Did Regulus get me the ring? It was all just so strange. 

“So,” Michael said. “Returning to our previous conversation.” 

“Yes,” Robert nodded. 

The four boys looked at me with pleading eyes. 

“Will you be our singer?” Michael clarified. “For the band.” 

I looked at the four boys. I never thought that my voice was that good. I’d sing when I was in the shower sometimes or when I was studying. 

“How do you know if I’m any good?” 

“Don’t you remember?” Michael asked. His eyebrows tugged together in confusion. 

“Yea?” Thomas asked. “When we have new song, you test run it. I don’t know how you could forget.” 

Robert smacked his arm, glaring at him. 

“Don’t be too hard on her,” Robert replied. “It’s not as if we have come up with anything recently.” 

“Well,” Trevor shrugged. “I’ve come up with one.” 

Trevor shied away from my gaze. 

“A couple actually,” His eyes darted over to mine. When he saw that I was watching him he looked away quickly. “If you sing them, I’ll have to change some of the pronouns.” 

“And take the names out,” Thomas winked at him. 

“What names?” I asked the group. 

“Oh?” Thomas’ eyes got very wide. “You haven’t told her?” 

“Told me what?” I asked around the room. 

“Nothing,” Trevor said, waving me off. “Don’t worry about it.” 

“I’m confused,” I replied, my head tilting slightly to the right. 

“Eh,” Trevor shrugged. “It’s not a big deal.” 

I decided to let it go. If he wasn’t ready to tell me, I wasn’t going to force him to. If anything, that would simply push him away. 

“Do you have the lyrics?” I asked. “We could test it out now.” 

“No-no,” Trevor shook his head. “The newest one still needs some work.” 

Trevor looked away; his cheeks were bright with a scarlet blush. He scratched the back of his neck. 

“Moving on,” Michael snickered. “So, you will be our lead singer?” 

The boys all turned to me, hope present in their eyes. Robert’s leg bounced quickly. Michael tapped his fingers sporadically on his knee. Thomas, at first, didn’t look nervous. He had a calm and cool demeanor. But his eyes were quickly glancing from me to the rest of the room, as if he couldn’t concentrate on one spot. 

“Of course,” I smiled as I nodded my head rapidly. 

“Good,” Thomas clapped, a giant grin appearing on his face. “Our first gig is on New Year’s Eve.” 

“What?” I exclaimed, staring at Thomas with wide eyes. 

“Yea,” Michael nodded. “We booked this gig with Robert as the main singer. They weren’t really a fan of us.” 

“So,” Robert continued, shooting a glare at Michael. “We informed them that Grayson Potter was our lead singer but you weren’t available for the audition.” 

“You should’ve seen their faces,” Thomas laughed. “Their eyes got so big. They wanted to cash in on you performing so fast.” 

“Ah, the things they’ll do for reputable families,” Trevor chuckled as he slung his arm around me. 

“Will we still wear the masquerade attire?” I asked as I cocked my head. 

“Of course,” Michael nodded. “Why?” 

“I mean,” I shrugged. “You, or rather, we are more of a punk band, didn’t think it was our style.” 

“Meh,” Thomas retorted. “A gig is a gig.” 

“Wait,” My brain felt fuzzy as I tried to process everything. “We have a gig in under 3 weeks?” 

“Yes,” Trevor replied as he picked up the bandana that I had bought him. 

“We will be performing for how many people?” I asked as I pushed my hair behind my ear. 

“Over a hundred.” 

My mouth fell open as Michael casually admits to how many people we will be entertaining. 

Over a hundred people. Over a hundred people, watching our every move. Over a hundred pairs of eyes watching, straining to see if we make any mistakes. 

“Our peers?” I was hoping the answer would be no. That we would be performing for random people at another masquerade. 

“Most definitely,” Thomas nodded. 

The boys all seemed excited. They must love the adrenaline of performing. I wasn’t too sure. I don’t even know if I’ve ever performed, let-alone in front of hundreds of people. The only time I’ve had that many eyes on me was when I had first come out as a Lady of Leisure. Maybe also quidditch. But people who watch quidditch aren’t always focusing on you. Especially as a beater, more people are focused on the chasers and the seeker. 

“What’s your set list?” 

I knew that the boys had a ton of songs. I knew for sure that I hadn’t gotten the chance to listen to them all. Even if I had listened to them all, I don’t remember them. 

“We don’t have one,” Thomas shrugged. 

“What!” I exclaimed. My eyes were wide as I looked at each boy with disbelief. 

“What?” Trevor asked, turning towards me. 

“We don’t have a set list?” 

None of the boys found a problem with this. As if it was normal to not have a set list this close to the gig. It was less than 3 weeks away. And I did not know any of their songs. How was this not a problem? How were they acting so calm? I would be freaking out. I am freaking out. This is insane. I just joined this group and am already ridden with anxiety. 

“No?” Thomas said. His face was scrunched with confusion. All of his features were pulling together. 

“Our set is under 3 weeks away!” I shouted, rather loudly. The few students also in the common room shot us a glare. 

“So?” Michael squinted at the fire in front of us. It was bewitched to burn green. I thought it was very cool. 

“We have time,” Robert shrugged as he hugged one leg to his chest. 

“We do not have time! We need to get the set list together and then practise.” 

I jumped up and started to pace the room. My hands viciously raked through my hair. 

How did they not have a set list? Did they not realize that this could turn out really bad without preparation? That, if we were to mess up, we would be laughed. Never to get a gig among our peers again. 

“Calm down.” 

“It’s not a big deal.” 

“Not a big deal? Stay calm?” I turned to the boys. I was so close to the fire that I could feel the heat on the back of my legs. It seemed to fuel my fear. “I don’t even know the lyrics!” 

“Oh.” 

“Yea, that might be a problem.” 

They turned to each other like lost puppies looking for guidance. Something none of them had at the time. 

“Alright, get me a copy of the sheet music. We will start to rehearse tomorrow.” 

“Yes, ma’am,” Thomas chuckled with a wink and a fake salute. 

As I walked back to the Gryffindor common room. I kept feeling as if I was being followed. It wasn’t any of my newly acquired bandmates, as they were having “boy time”. It was eerie. Like a bad chill as I walked from the dungeons all the way to the Gryffindor tower. 

I’m sure the party would still be at full capacity. It was only midnight. These things could go on until at least 4, then it usually got shut down. 

As the door opened, all I could smell was a mixture of alcohol and body odor. The mixture was not one that I was too fond of. 

The room was full of drunken teenagers as they danced to the music that was blaring from who-knows-where. 

“Lithe!” Shouted a random student as I passed by. 

This led to a chorus of drunken students slurring my name as I made my way through the bodies to get to my dormitory. 

“Lithe!” A drunken Sirius slurred as he stumbled over to me. 

He may have been stumbling and slurring some of his words there was an evil look in his eyes. I was a little scared of what he was up to. 

“Sirius,” I looked at him shamefully. “It’s only 12, pull yourself together mate.” 

“Marlene came up with a game,” Sirius said with joy. His eyes lit up with excitement. “You should come play.” 

“Sirius,” I shook my head. “I am not dressed for a party.” 

He looked down at my green jumper and black leggings. 

“You can party in anything!” He shook his head happily. “There’s not dress code.” 

“Sirius,” I replied shaking my head. “I don’t even have any alcohol.” 

“You can have some of mine,” He looked at me with a devilish look. “I’m sure James wouldn’t mind sharing.” 

I looked across the crowd to see my brother and the gang watching us with intent. They were all gathered on the couches, an empty seat beside James, presumably where Sirius had sat. 

It’s not that I didn’t want to go party. I was just so stressed about the upcoming gig. I needed to be able to get up tomorrow and not feel exhausted. 

“Come on Longsnout,” Padfoot said taking a step forward. “I know you’re stressed. You need to come out and have some fun.” 

“Padfoot,” I said cautiously with my hands out in front of me. “No.” 

Though I didn’t want to a grin was forming on my face. It was sweet that he cared so much. I felt appreciated that he wanted me to come out with them. 

“Lithe,” Sirius narrowed his eyes. “Just come and have fun. Don’t make me come get you.” 

“Not tonight Sirius.” I shook my head as I backed up. 

“Fine,” Padfoot smirked. “The hard way it is.” 

Before Sirius could make a move, I dashed for the stairs. I tore my way through the crowd of people to get out of Padfoot’s evil clutches. 

I pushed several people aside to get away. I didn’t even apologize. I hoped they wouldn’t remember this the next morning. Or that they laughed at the whole situation. 

My heart was beating loudly. I could feel the rush of blood pound in my ears. I was so close to the stairs. I didn’t dare look behind me to see how close Sirius was. I knew that looking back would only slow me down. 

Sirius howled with laughter. It sounded close. 

I was only 3 large steps away. I held my breath as I came closer and closer to the stairs. 

I made it! I actually made it on to the stairs! Sirius didn’t catch me. I was safe. 

A part of me was sad. A part of me wanted him to catch me. Throw me over his shoulder and take me. Continue to walk with me on his shoulder to the boy’s dorm- 

Woah. What? 

I shook my head and climbed up a few stairs, making sure I was out of reach from the bottom stair. I turned around with huge smirk as Sirius stopped at the foot of the stairs. 

“Guess I won’t be drinking tonight,” I winked with my hands on my hips. “You lose.” 

“I lose, do I?” The smile on his face made my heart flutter. It also confused me. 

“Well, yea,” My smile dropped from my face, making his only grow wider. “I’m on the stairs, so I win?” 

I peered over to our group. I could see a few smiles as others were cackling. 

“Well,” Sirius stepped forward. “As you may know, these stairs are charmed.” 

“Yea,” I nodded, confused. Where was he going with this? “Only people who identify as female can climb the stairs.” 

“And what happens when people don’t identify as female step on?” He asked plainly. 

“Oh no.” 

I turned quickly and tried my best to climb the rest of the stairs but it was too late. When Sirius, inevitably stepped on the staircase, it was turned to a steep slide and I fell. Sliding all the way down to the bottom. 

I sat at the bottom of the stairs with a big pout. 

Sirius crouched down beside me; a hand stretched out to help me get to my feet. 

“I win,” He smiled. 

I looked at him with a scowl and got up without his help. 

“Aww, sunshine,” Sirius cooed in my ear. “Don’t be mad at me.” He slung his arm around me. “It’s just a game. Loopholes are loopholes.” 

“Oh, don’t worry, love,” I said with emphasis on love. “I will get you back. Just you wait.” 

He smirked at me before lifting me over his shoulder and carrying me to the couch. 

“Sirius!” 

“Sirius Orion Black!” 

“Put!” 

“Me!” 

“Down!” 

“Alright,” Sirius, the devilish boy, put me down gently. 

We were standing on front of the couch. The backs of my legs were against the coffee table, covered in alcohol containers. 

I looked around to try and find a place to sit, only to notice everywhere was occupied. 

Before I could even move to go and try to sit on the floor near the fire, I was pulled into a lap. The lap of Sirius Black, the devilish pest, who will not stop annoying me. 

“There you are,” He said as he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me to his chest. His head rested on my shoulder as he looked around at the group. “Shall we continue?” 

____________________

Hey guys! I'm super busy with school work and visiting family right now but I will be back to my regular posting next week! I also just wanted to mention that I am not close to being done. Depending on how much focus I will be putting on the following years, I don't think I will be done writing for a while. 

Word Count: 2316

November 13, 2020


	32. King's Cup

After a few people chuckled Marlene delved into explaining the game.

“So,” Marlene explained. “This game is called King’s Cup. All that it requires is a group of people, drinks and a deck of cards.” She held up the deck in her hand. “Ace means waterfall. After the first-person drinks, the person to their left drinks and so on. You can only stop when the person to your left stops drinking.” 

“Oh boy,” I sighed.

Depending on who was on my left this could be a very dangerous game. I hoped it wasn’t Sirius. With my jump, I was sure that my alcohol tolerance was low. I mean, I was 11, drinking wasn’t an activity that I did. I mean, I wasn’t really sure that 14 was a good age to be drinking. Yet, here I am. 

“If you get a two,” She continued. “You pick someone to take 2 drinks. Three is me, you drink. Four is floor, last to touch the floor drinks. Five is guys, all members identifying as male drink. Six is chicks, all members identifying as female drink. Seven is heaven, everyone raises their hands to the sky. The last person to do so drinks. Eight is mate, pick a buddy. Every time you drink, your buddy must also drink.”

“You’re definitely going to be my buddy,” Sirius whispered in my ear. 

“Sirius,” I groaned as I leaned back into him. His chest pressed against my back. “I don’t want to be in the infirmary tomorrow.”

“You know I’d never do that to you,” Sirius said as he hugged me tightly. “I just want you to have fun.”

His breath against my neck made me shiver. 

“Nine is rhyme. The first person will say a word and then, going clockwise, everyone will have to say a word that rhymes with it. Now,” Marlene stated glaring around the circle. “If one of you little pricks say some bullshit like orange, you will be banned from the game.”

“Scary,” Sirius mumbled.

I gasped as he swept my hair to my right shoulder and rested his chin on my left. His fingers lightly brushing against my skin as he moves my hair. 

“Ten is categories, the person says a category and everyone names something in that category,” Marlene said as she started to shuffle the cards. 

“What counts as a category?” Remus asked with an eyebrow raised inquisitively. 

“Anything,” Marlene smirked.   
“So,” Lily inquired. “I could say, people the marauders have pranked?”

“You might want to make it a bit more difficult Lilly,” James laughed. “The point is to do a smaller list so that people can get eliminated easily.”

“Yea,” Peter giggled quietly. “We have pranked so many people the list would be endless.”

“Anyways,” Marlene continued. “Jack is never have I ever. Everyone will put 5 fingers up; we will go around the circle saying things that we haven’t done. If you have done them, put a finger down. The first person out drinks.”

I looked at my lap and tensed my jaw. 

Of course, I would never win that one. Even if I had done things with them before, it’s not like I had actually done them yet. 

“Lithe smokes us at this game,” Peter said happily. “She’s definitely going to be drinking.”

“Or not,” I mumbled causing Sirius to rub circles with his fingers against my arms. 

“Queen means question,” Marlene stated. “Ask someone a question, if they answer wrong or refuse to answer, they drink. If they answer correctly or truthfully, you drink.”

“Let’s do the second version. Having to answer a question truthfully,” Kat teased. “Let’s get some dirt on everyone.”

For only really knowing Kat and Nina for a little over a month, I am so happy to have them both in my life. Our group has become very close and I am so glad to call them friends. Kat was a good mix of chaos and Nina was a good mix of calm. They were the perfect duo. Kat and Marlene were a deadly combination though. They tended to be the chaotic duo of the bunch. Never to be trusted alone together. Lily was definitely the more rational of the bunch. Lily and Nina shared the same rational energy but Nina was an introvert whereas Lily was an extrovert. I was a mix. At times, I was very rational but for most of the time, my emotions had control over me. I let them guide me. I let my anger guide me.

“Will we be using veritaserum?” Lily asked, leaning closer. 

“Ooooh,” Sirius hummed. “We should, that would certainly make things more interesting.”

“Should we?” James asked, perking up. 

“No,” Remus shook his head.

“Wait,” Sirius slid out from under me leaving me sitting alone in the corner of the couch. 

Lily looked over to me with a curious look in her eye. 

Sirius darted through the crowd, making his way to their dorm room. He darted down the stairs, out of sight.

“This is about to be a lot more interesting,” Remus sighed.

I smiled sympathetically at him. I knew that he had a lot to lose if his secret slipped out if someone asked him the wrong question while he was under the influence of veritaserum. I mean even I was on edge. If they found out about my jumps- Well, I wasn’t quite sure what would happen. No one really specified what would happen. Just that it would be dangerous if it ever got out.

Sirius ran back and jumped over the back of the sofa, landing snugly between James and I. He held up his hand, showcasing a small vial of clear liquid. It wasn’t a lot but it would do for this game. 

“I got it,” Sirius grinned as he wrapped his arm casually around my shoulder. He grinned at me as he gave me a squeeze. “When the time comes, we’ll make a drink with this,” He held up the truth serum. “And whoever picks the queen, will get to ask anyone a question and that person will either willingly take the veritaserum and be asked a question. Or, take a drink.”

“Sounds,” Lily paused thinking of a response. “Interesting.”

I ran a hand through my hair and bit my lip. Looking over to Sirius, I noticed that he was looking intently at my hair. Since we were sitting down we were about the same height. Not that he was much taller than me. Though, I was pretty much finished growing and he had just begun. 

His hand reached out and twirled a strand of my hair between his fingers. 

“And finally, King,” Marlene exclaimed as she pressed the cards into a condensed pile. “ You must pour a little bit of your drink into this cup,” She pulled out a red coffee mug from behind her back and placed it in the middle. “The last king pulled has to drink it.”

I scrunched my nose as I looked around the group. Marlene had fire whiskey, her favourite. Lily had red currant rum which James was also drinking. Peter had butterbeer. Kat had a bottle of vodka mixed with pomegranate juice; she had both bottles next to her. Nina had a 4-pack of Babycham, a popular sweet drink, beside her. Remus had chocolate liqueur. Sirius also had chocolate liqueur, that I would be sharing. 

I mean, I don’t think the mix would be bad per say, but I don’t think it would be good. 

“All right,” Marlene announced. “Let’s start.”

Marlene held her breath as she pulled the first card. 

“I drew a nine,” Marlene smiled. “Nine is rhyme first one to mess up the rhyme drinks.” Everyone around the circle nodded. “Alright, my word is light.”

“Night,” Nina replied. 

“Fight,” Kat answered.

“Tight,” Said Lily.

“Might.” James glanced around the room. 

“Flight.” Sirius fidgeted in his seat. 

“Delight,” I spat quickly. I wasn’t good with on the spot answers. 

“Write,” Remus shrugged.

“K-kite,” Peter stuttered. 

“Spite.”

“Sight.”

“Height.”

This went on for quite some time. There were a lot of words that rhymed with light. After about two or three rounds Marlene finally broke. 

“Whatever,” She muttered. “I’ll lose.” She took a large gulp of her drink. “I’m too sober for this. Here.” She passed the deck of cards to Nina. “Pick a card.”

“King,” Nina announced. She passed the cards to Kat and then got up. She walked over and poured some of her drink into the cup in the middle. 

“Two,” Kat replied smiling. “Lithe, you haven’t taken a drink yet, so, take two.”

Sirius smiled, passing me the bottle of chocolate liqueur. I take it with a phony grin. 

“Sirius,” Marlene gasped. “Your drinking something so sweet? Has Lithe made you go soft?”

“More than you know, Razel,” Sirius said, shaking his head. “More than you will ever know.”

He gazed softly at me. I looked away quickly, taking two big gulps of the liqueur. If I was going to drink, might as well go hard.

“There.” I stuck out my tongue at Kat. “Happy?”

“Very,” She grinned as she passed the deck to Lily.

“Eight,” Lily said, looking around the room. “My mate will be.” She took in her options.

Sirius, Kat, James and Marlene were easily disqualified. Remus and Peter are known to be sneaky so it’s not going to be them. Leaving Nina and I. With Lily, she was never a big drinker. She loved to have fun and party but she was reasonable. Taking others opinions and wants into consideration. 

“Lithe,” She nodded at me. “You’re my mate.” 

“Alright,” I sighed. 

I was half-hoping she would choose Nina. Although, Lily is not so bad when it comes to mates in this game.

“Five,” James announced. 

“Marauders drink,” I said, handing the bottle back to Sirius.

He narrowed his eyes as he took the bottle and took a swig without breaking eye contact. 

“Looks like your mate just took a drink.”

I looked over to Lily to see that she was drinking from her bottle. 

“Foxy,” I whined.

“I was thirsty,” She said with a smirk.

I guess, having Lily as a mate wasn’t as easy as I thought it was going to be. 

Sirius grabbed the deck from James and pulled a card. 

“Jack,” He said as he flipped the card between his fingers, showing the card to the group. “Never have I ever.” 

I looked over at Sirius. He raised his hand. As his eyes met mine, I saw reassurance flash through his eyes. 

“I’ll help you,” He whispered with a subtle wink. Before I could ask how he said. “Never have I ever had a mysterious stranger send me gifts.”

I glared at Sirius while putting a finger down.

“Pads, mate, you’re not supposed target one person,” Remus said.

Sirius shrugged as it moved on to my turn. 

“Never have I ever snogged a girl,” I glared at Sirius, waiting for him to put his finger down. 

Sirius rolled his eyes. Both James and Marlene followed suit, both putting a finger down. Remus reluctantly put one down as if he didn’t want anyone to catch him doing it.

“Oh, really James?” I asked my brother. “Who in their right mind would snog you?”

James gasped. “I am offended you would even need to ask. Many girls would love to snog me. I-I am quite the catch you know.”

I looked at him in disbelief. 

“The only girl you’ve ever talked about is Foxy-” I gasped, looking over at Lily with wide eyes. “You didn’t!”

“No, no, no,” Lily shook her head. “I definitely did not.”

“Then who? You know what, I don’t want to know,” I shook my head.

“Never have I ever played on the quidditch team,” Remus said. 

Sirius, James, Marlene and I put our fingers down. 

“Nev-never have I ever snogged a boy,” Peter announced. 

I glanced over at Sirius. His eyes connected with mine and he gave me a subtle nod. 

Sirius, James, Lily, Kat, Remus, Marlene and I put our fingers down. 

Who have I snogged? A boy? Did I snog Sirius? Wait! Remus lowered his finger. Who has Remus snogged? Maybe Sirius or James? Was it for a joke? 

I looked over to my brother to see him glaring at Sirius. Sirius looked nervously around the room. His eyes avoiding both me and James. This made me think that Sirius and I snogged. 

“Never have I ever snogged a marauder,” Marlene said, raising an eyebrow in my direction.

Remus shifted uncomfortably in his seat as did Sirius. They both refused to make eye-contact with James and I. 

I watched as they made eye-contact with each other, sharing the same expression. Almost instantaneously their expressions changed. Their awkwardness sprung to confusion.

“Lithe,” Lily said tensely. “Lower your finger.”

James, Sirius and I lowered another finger. We were all tied with one finger left. 

“What?” James exclaimed looking over at me. “Who did you snog?”

I narrowed my eyes at James. I hope he got the message that I would also love the answer to that.

“Lily,” James said turning to her. “Who did she snog?”

“Drink,” Lily said to me. 

We both raised our bottles taking swigs. 

“Never have I ever had a crush on Lithe,” Nina said quickly.

I stared at her with wide eyes. I was not expecting to be the topic of never have I ever. 

Marlene and Sirius quickly put down their fingers. For Sirius it was his last. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Remus put down a finger as he lowered his hand. Though, it could’ve been because we were finished playing. That was Sirius’ last finger. 

“That wasn’t too bad,” Sirius admitted before taking a swig. 

Sirius quickly handed me the deck. I pulled the top card. An ace.

“Waterfall,” I smiled, showing my card. 

“Alright,” Remus nodded, picking up his bottle. “Ready when you are.”

“Wait,” I said. “Sirius and I are sharing. How will this work?”

Sirius pulled out a flask from his pocket. 

“My backup,” He said.

“What is it?” Marlene asked.

“Rum.”

“Alright, on 3,” I announced. 

“3”

“2”

“1”

I lifted up the bottle and started to drink. I chugged for about 15 seconds before putting it down. I scrunched my nose at the taste. It wasn’t like there was a huge after taste of alcohol but there was enough for me to taste it. I mean, this was alcohol. It wouldn’t be alcoholic without the alcohol.

Remus continued to drink for a few moments after. The drinking had just reached Sirius. After Remus had stopped, Peter immediately stopped. Marlene continued. Nina ran out of her drink so she popped open another bottle. In the time it took her to do that, Marlene was still drinking. 

I had a feeling Marlene was not going to be having a very happy Sunday. 

Once Marlene finally stopped drinking, Nina stopped. Then Kat stopped. Lily stopped; she was looking very red in the face. James and Sirius were the last people drinking.

James didn’t stop. He kept drinking. It was going on for quite a long time. They both finally stopped. 

To prove that it was empty, Sirius tipped over his flask. There wasn’t a drop left. 

I passed the stack of cards to Remus. 

The game continued. Drinks were consumed. We were all getting plastered. So far, we were all very low on contents in our bottles. Since we were drinking the same thing, Remus offered to share with me. 

“King,” James said.

He got up and poured some of his drink in the cup.

“There’s only one king left,” Marlene said. 

Sirius grabbed the deck from James and flipped the top card. 

“Queen,” Sirius turned to me with a smile. “Darling, I have an important question for you.”

“Yes, my dear,” I lean my head back on his shoulder, looking up at him. 

His cheek was so close, I could give him a quick peck. The closer I saw his cheek, I noticed how good his skin was. His pores were very small. 

“What do you think of me?”

I thought of this question. I thought of all the emotions flooding my mind as I heard him ask me this. Would this be a dangerous question to answer? Taking veritaserum would mean that for the next while, everything that I would say would be the truth. It was very hard to tell a lie, or avoid the truth. And, how long would the potion last? 

“Well?” James asked.

“I accept,” I smiled at Sirius. 

“Stick out your tongue,” Sirius said as he took the vial out. “I’ll pour three drops. That should be enough.”

I did as I was told. Sirius took out the dropper and applied to potion. 

“How do you feel?” Lily asked. 

“Completely normal,” I shrugged. “How do we know if it’s in effect?”

“Try to lie,” Remus said. “What is the colour of my jumper?”

I looked down at his maroon jumper. Green. Say green.

“Maroon,” I choked out. “Oooh, it is working.”

“Alright,” Sirius said as I turned towards him. He looked me deep into my eyes. I watched the grey of his eyes. “What do you think of me?”

“I think-” My mouth moved without the help of my mind. “That you are a flirt. You are hard to love. You push people away so that you do not have the chance to hurt them. You care more about the people around you that yourself. You infuriate me. Yet, a smile makes my heart skip a beat. A glance and I am putty in your hands.” Every little thought that popped into my head that was relevant to Sirius Black flew out of my mouth. 

I slapped a hand over my mouth before I could embarrass myself any further. 

“Anything else to add?” Sirius said as he grinned from ear to ear. 

I shook my head no.

I picked up a card.

“Lithe,” Remus smiled. “What’s your card?”

“Queen.”

I was glad that Remus’ question got me off of the spiral Sirius had thrown me down.

“Sirius,” I turned to him with a devilish smirk. “Might want to keep the veritaserum out, I got a queen.”

“So,” Marlene explained. “Ask the question first, if the person doesn’t want to answer they drink, if they do you drink and they take the veritaserum.” 

“Alright,” I looked around.

I wasn’t sure who I wanted to ask. Or rather, what I wanted to ask. There were some questions better kept from our group of peers. I wasn’t about to brutally humiliate someone, although they did have the option to turn it down. 

“Sirius,” I turned to the boy beside me. “Who do you prefer, me or my brother?”

James’ jaw dropped, as if he hadn’t thought to bring up that question. As Sirius, sat in between the both of us, he looked nervously in both of our directions.

“Sorry, sunshine,” Sirius shook his head, taking a swig. “But there’s no way that I would take veritaserum around my mates.”

“Sure,” Lily rolled her eyes. “That’s the only reason you won’t take it.”

“Yea,” Marlene added. “I’m sure it has nothing to do with hurting them. We all know which sibling you prefer.”

“That is untrue,” Sirius shook his head. “I prefer them equally but, in very different ways.” He turned to James. “James is one of my best mates. He, along with the other marauders, is like a brother to me. We are 4 amigos. They’re the only family I truly have.” He turned to me. “Grayson, rather Lithe, sorry love. Lithe is the love of my life.” He stared deep into my eyes. “She is the only one that I want to be with. For the rest of my life.”

Sirius bent down, wrapping his arm around my legs, dragging them over his legs. His other hand rested on the small of my back. He brought his arm out from under my legs and let it rest on my knees. My head fell to his chest. 

“Sirius,” I giggled as my head hit his chest. 

“This is the woman that I want to start a family with.” Sirius gave me a soft kiss on the forehead. 

“Ok, ok, gross,” Kat rolled her eyes. 

“Just for that,” Marlene said getting up. “Sirius switch.”

“Nope,” James shook his head. “You also fancy my sister. Remus, come sit next to her.”

Remus looked stunned. He froze as James called him out.

“Remus. Remus? Mate,” James sighed. “Please tell me that you do not fancy my sister as well.”

“N-no,” Remus shook his head. “I do not. I do not fancy Lithe.”

Sirius and Remus switched spots. I laid my head on Remus. 

We only had a couple more rounds before the excitement had died down. The final card was finally drawn. 

“King,” I rolled my eyes as I wandered over to the middle. 

The concoction of Babycham, firewhiskey and red currant rum. This was about to be interesting. 

I picked up the cup and knocked it back, drinking the entire cup. The taste was not one that I recommended. I scrunched my nose as the firewhiskey took over. I was not happy with the taste of it.

“Remus,” I whispered in his ear. “Can you carry me to bed?”

“Lithe, boys can’t go into the girl’s dorm,” He replied. 

“Then,” I blinked heavily. “Can I sleep in your dorm?” 

I looked up at him with wide eyes. I wasn’t entirely sure why I was asking him. But, here I was. 

Remus looked from James to Sirius. 

“Hey James?” Remus asked. “Can Lithe crash in our dorm?”

“Of course,” James shrugged. “Are you both done for the night?”

“Yes,” Remus nodded.

“No,” I shook my head. “Remus, if you want to stay out you can.”

“No,” James shook his head. “Remus doesn’t normally stay out this late.”

“Oh,” I nodded slowly. 

“I’ll take her,” Sirius tried to interject.

“No way,” James said. “You are not taking advantage of my sister.”

“I would never take advantage of her,” Sirius argued.

“I know,” James replied. “But, I am not taking any chances.”

“You trust Remus with her,” Sirius whined. 

“Yes,” James shook his head. “Remus has also never made a joke about getting into her pants.”

“End of discussion,” Remus stood up, looping his arm around my back. “I’ll take her to bed.”

Without another word, Remus led me through the sea of drunken students and down the stairs. 

“Careful,” Remus said as I stumbled on a step. “I wouldn’t want you to fall. It’s not pleasant, trust me.”

“Thank you Remus,” I muttered. 

We made it into their dorm and I was ready to drop into whichever bed was the closest. 

“Wait,” Remus said as he set me on his bed. “I’ll get you something comfier to wear.”

I nodded sleepily and ran a hand through my hair.

“Here.”

Remus handed me a pair of grey sweatpants and a maroon t-shirt. 

“They’ll be a little big on you,” Remus said. “But you can tighten the draw string.”

I stood up and without a second thought I took off my jumper. Leaving me standing in a bra.

“Bloody hell.”

Remus’ eyes shot wide as they flickered down. Though, he quickly recomposed himself and turned around.

“Right, well, I’ll go and change in the bathroom-”

“Remus?”

“Yes, Lithe,” He said flustered. 

“Can you help me?”

I honestly felt too lazy to get dressed on my own. I didn’t have the energy to move. And anyways, if he was willing, who does it hurt?

“Su-sure.”

Remus slowly made his way over to me and grabbed the shirt that he had laid next to me. He pulled his shirt over my head and it snugly fit over my bust. 

I groaned as I pulled off my bra. I would be much more comfortable sleeping without it anyways. 

Remus squeaked as I threw it across the floor. He dashed to go and pick it up, putting it with the rest of my removed articles. 

As he was folding my clothes neatly I removed my pants.

“Ah,” He screamed as he turned around. 

“What?” I asked, not knowing what I did wrong.

“You- just-” He shook his head. “Put my sweats on.”

“I don’t think I want to wear pants.”

Now that I had my leggings off, my legs felt so free. Plus, I wouldn’t want to be too hot under the covers.

“You are wearing pants to bed.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

Remus stepped closer. The distance between us was very slim.

“Put the pants on.”

As he said this his eyes quickly trailed down to my lips. The way he ordered me to put pants on made me feel weird. I liked it. 

“Or what?” I bit my lip as my eyes trailed down to his lips.

“No,” Remus shook his head, pushing me down on the bed. “When I get out of the bathroom you better have the pants on and be in bed.”

With that, he left. He disappeared quickly into their bathroom. 

I sighed, not wanting to put the pants on. Though, I followed what he said and put them on. I also climbed to the top of the bed and sat under the covers with a pout and my arms crossed. 

“Good,” Remus said as he came out of the bathroom. “Now sleep.”

Remus came out of the bathroom with a bottle of pills and two bottles of water. 

“Here,” He said passing me the pills. “They will make you feel better.”

I took the pills and watched as he did the same. Then, Remus walked around the bed and crawled into bed next to me, turning his back towards me.

Was this it? Was he not going to say anything? Was I just supposed to fall asleep?

I sighed, hoping he would talk to me. 

Nothing.

I sighed again.

Nothing.

After the third time he turned around and looked at me. Though there was annoyance, there was no anger.

“Can I help you?” He asked with a huff.

“I want to talk.”

“If you wanted to talk, why didn’t you stay out with everyone else?”

My eyebrows pulled together. 

“Do you like me?” I asked.  
______

Word Count: 4388  
November 21, 2020


	33. Dreams

“Wh-what?” He sputtered.

I shifted so that I was now laying down, facing him. Our faces were inches away from each other. I could faintly feel his breath fan my face. The smell of mint wafting through the air.

“Do you like me?”

Remus paused. He was thinking of how to reply. He probably didn’t like me. He’s probably only friends with me because of my brother.

“If you don’t please feel free to tell me,” I mumble. “I promise I won’t be hurt. I just like having you as a friend. But if you don’t want to be my friend anymore, I understand.”

As I tried to turn to leave, Remus wrapped his arm around me. He pulled me very close to his chest. I inhaled deeply, shocked by his response. He smelled of wood, like the forest and fresh laundry. There was a hint of alcohol but that may just be me.

“Of course,” Remus chuckled. His chin rested on my head. His hand aimlessly brushed through my hair. “Lithe, of course, I like you.”

“Really?” My eyes widened as I pulled back to meet his eye. 

“Yes.” A soft smiled played on his lips. 

His hand slowly made its way down to my cheek. My cheek rested softly in his palm.

“Remus?” 

“Yes, Lithe?” 

“You don’t need to call me Lithe,” I said as my eyes scanned his face. “Not when we’re alone.”

I’d always known what his face looked like but it was different when I was so close to him. The candlelight flickering across his face made him look like a prince. His brown eyes were normally like caramel in the light but in the candle lit dorm room they looked more like a pool of chocolate. His, normally well-kept hair, was sprawled across his pillow. His scar looked softer in the light. Almost unnoticeable. 

I brought my hand up to his face and traced the scars. My fingertip brushing lightly over the warped flesh. I glided my finder over his nose. Then across his cheek. When I’d completed tracing the three lines, I looked up to Remus only to find his gaze fixated on me. 

“Then-then what should I call you,” Remus said, his voice raised a couple octaves.

“What would you like to call me?” I asked as I ran a finger down his jaw.

It was like a shadow creeped onto his expression. His eyes looked distanced. As if he wanted to say something but didn’t have enough courage. His lips pursed together.

“Grayson.” He sighed. His hand reached up, removing my hand from his face. “Please don’t do this to me.”

“Do what to you?”

What was he on about? What was I doing that was so wrong? Did he not want me to be touching him as I was? He sighed, shutting his eyes tightly. He brought my hands up to lips, pressing soft kisses on my knuckles. 

“Grayson,” He held my hands tightly in his. His forehead was pressed against mine. “You do not understand what you do to me.”

“Remus,” I breathed. “What do you mean?”

“Grayson.” Remus brushed my hair back behind my ear. He quickly brought his hand back down and held my hands in his. “You are incredible.”

He pulled back. His eyes opened slowly and he stared at me with an intense gaze. He held my cupped hands in one of his hands while the other hand trailed up my arm and cupped my cheek. 

I never noticed how big his hands were. One of his hands could loosely cover both of my hands easily. Although he had a small frame, Remus was toned. He was certainly still going to grow.

“Oh, Grayson,” Remus sighed as he pulled me in. 

His lips pressed gently against my forehead as his arms enveloped me in a tight embrace. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders as his were wrapped tight around my waist. His hands rested on the small of my back. 

“Is everything okay?” I asked softly to Remus, tucking my head into the nook of his shoulder.

“I’m okay,” Remus replied, his voice was barely above whisper. “Can we stay like this for a moment?”

“Of course.”

I ran my fingers through his hair, twirling the hairs at the nape of his neck. His arms pulled me closer to his chest. 

It felt nice to be held in his arms. Remus was so warm, being in his arms was so nice. It felt comforting to be held. I loved this feeling.

“Remus?” I asked.

“Yes.” 

His voice sounded as if he was in a daze. 

“You sound tired.”

“I am,” He yawned, rolling onto his back. 

In turn, I am rolled onto his chest. My legs were straddling him as my head was on his chest. Remus’ hands stayed in their spot on my waist. One of Remus’ hands drifted from my waist and shifted us to pull up the covers that were under us.

I squealed as Remus reversed planked, lifting both his torso and I into the air. With one hand rested on my waits the other slipped underneath his back to swipe the covers from underneath us. 

I never realized how strong Remus actually was. 

“Wow,” I giggled as we fell back to the mattress. The covers were draped over my shoulders. “I didn’t know you were so strong.”

“One of the small perks of having my, um, little problem every month,” Remus said with a tired smile. 

He yawned again and squeezed me tightly against his chest. I closed my eyes as I snuggled into the nook of his neck and began to drift to sleep. 

“Time to go to bed,” Remus said softly as he moved me to my side of the bed. 

“Goodnight Remus.”

“Goodnight Grayson.”

Remus turned his back to me. Leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I turned away to Remus. My back was turned to him as I fell into a deep sleep.

When I opened my eyes, I was in a cell. A dark and gloomy cell. There was small slits in the wall showing the even gloomier weather outside. Curled up in the corner was a raggedy man. His hair and beard were untamed. He wore ripped robes that looked as if they hadn’t been washed in decades. 

Upon my arrival he turned towards me. His fearful expression turned to one of shock. He ra his hands through his shaggy brown hair. His gaze flickering around the room several times.   
The man closed his eyes, shaking his head. 

“No, no, no,” He whispered with his eyes closed. “Come on, mate, you can’t lose your sanity. Not yet anyways.”

When he opened his eyes, his gaze flickered back over to me. 

“Maybe I have truly lost it,” He chuckled as he fiddled with his fingers. “I’m seeing Grayson Potter. I must be mad. Or going mad. Either way I’ll be rotting away in here for the rest of my life.”

“Where are we?” I asked the scraggily old man. 

“Azkaban,” He said grimly. “But if you’re a figment of my imagination you should already know that.”

“I’m not a figment of your imagination,” I replied.

“Is that so?” He laughed.

“Well,” I pondered. “I don’t think that I am. Is there really any way that we can prove that I am not a figment of your imagination?”

“Hmm.” The old man looked at me sceptically. “Tell me something that I don’t know.”

“How would I know what you know and what you don’t know?” I asked plainly. “I haven’t the faintest idea as to who you are. And anyways, how do I know that you aren’t a figment of my imagination?”

“You-you don’t recognize me,” He said, his head hanging low. “I suppose that is for the best.”

“I know you?” I asked.

I had never seen this man in my life. I had no recollection of ever meeting him.

“You do,” He nodded sadly. “Though, when we met, I was much younger.”

“Really?” 

I was scared of the look in his eyes. There was a hint of madness.

He watched me. He stared at me with his wide-eyes. It made me a little uncomfortable.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked.

“Sorry,” He looked away suddenly. “I haven’t seen a familiar face in so long.” He fidgeted with his fingers as he kept his gaze off of me. “I guess you are still so young and I am so old. How old are you?”

“I am 14-years-old,” I replied honestly.

“Oh!” He looked at me with excitement. “Your first jump. How exciting for you.”

“You know about my situation?” I gasped; my hands clasped over my mouth.

“I do,” He gave me a tight smile. 

“So,” I looked around the cell. “Who are you?”

“I, um, well, I am a prisoner,” He nodded to himself. “A prisoner of Azkaban.”

“But, what is your name?” 

“The prisoner of Azkaban.”

I was getting tired of this man. These sarcastic comments were getting on my nerves. Why won’t he answer a simple question? Was he some hardened criminal? What did he do?

“Now back to the point,” He shook his head, avoiding my question. “If I was a figment of your imagination, you would know who I am. You see, the brain remembers faces and places really well. Does my face seem familiar to you? Because you certainly haven’t been to Azkaban.”

“Not in the slightest,” I shook my head.

“Thus,” He said holding open his arms. “This is not a figment of your imagination.”

“But,” I shook my head. “This can’t be a figment of your imagination either. I am dreaming right now.”

“How do you know?” He asked curiously.

“Right now,” I thought back to what I was doing before. “Right now, I am asleep next to a friend. It’s a few weeks before Christmas in 1974.”

“A friend huh?” The man asked with a devilish grin.

“Yes,” I rolled my eyes. “A friend.”

“Are you sure that you are only friends? That there is nothing more lingering in the depths?” He persisted, his eyes glimmering with delight.

“I-” 

I thought of Remus and how we had previously acted. The way it felt to be held in his arms. His soft kisses against my knuckles. How nice it was to have his arms wrapped around me. How secure I felt to be pressed against his warm chest. The soft kiss he placed on my forehead. The way that all of this seemed so innocent at the time. My drunken decisions seeming slightly questionable now.

“I don’t know.”

Did Remus have feelings for me?

I thought back to the game. Did he really put a finger down for having a crush on me or was he just putting his finger down to end the game? Also, why did he refuse to look at James and I when the ‘Never have I ever kissed a marauder’ question popped up. Was I closer to Remus than I realized? 

I started to feel bad for all the times that I had gushed to him about my feelings for another person. I couldn’t imagine how much that would’ve hurt him. 

“And, how do you feel about young Sirius Black?” 

I was taken aback by his question.

“Well-well, I’m not sure how I feel,” I stuttered. 

Way to change the subject.

“You are in bed with him and yet you don’t know how you feel about him?” The man asked with a knowing look in his eyes.

“I’m not in bed with Sirius,” I shook my head. “I’m in bed with Remus.”

“Remus?” The man’s mouth fell open. “Was not expecting that.” He raised an eyebrow. “So, what were you and Mr. Lupin doing in bed together?”

“Nothing,” I replied defensively. 

“Alright,” He said with a cheeky grin. “Keep your secrets.”

I crossed my arms and clenched my jaw. 

“Oh, how I’ve missed how you look when you are cross with me, Grayson,” He sighed as he walked across the small cell towards me. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

He was quite a bit taller than me, I realized as he stood in front of me. 

I felt panicked. I was frozen on the spot. My body was ignoring my request to move away from this strange man. 

“I’m so sorry.” Tears swelled in his eyes, he looked as if he were about to cry. “I should’ve known.” He shook his head. 

He took a step closer and held out his arms. As if was expecting me to jump in them and hug him. As he tried to wrap his arms around me, they passed cleanly through my body. 

I shivered as his arms passed through me.

“Are you-oh merlin no,” The man cried. “You-you cannot be dead. No-no-no. What about the children?” 

“What children?” I asked him.

I knew it wasn’t good to talk to strangers. Especially ones in prison but, it was like I knew this man. I mean, he certainly knew me.

“Listen here mister,” I said as I watched him with narrow eyes. 

He chuckled, shaking his head. 

“Oh, how I’ve missed you,” He sighed. “What I’d give to hold you in my arms again.”

“James?” I asked as I quirked an eyebrow. 

Did James get himself thrown into prison? What did James do? This man certainly didn’t look like James. His eyes. Oh, his eyes were dark. With this lighting it was too hard to tell their colour. His hair and beard made it hard to tell. His face was practically covered in hair. 

“No,” He shook his head sadly. “I am not your brother.”

“Then who are you?” 

“It might be better if you don’t know” The man said solemnly. 

“Black.” An ominous voice said from outside of the cell. “You have a visitor. Cornelius Fudge is here to see you.”

“Black?” 

Before I could say any more my vision started to blur. The world around me seemed to spin. It was like I was having a panic attack but I felt completely calm. I was almost in a dream-like state. 

When my vision stopped being blurred, I noticed that I was in a house. There were two leather couches sat opposing each other. In the corner was a piano. There were big windows surrounding the room that were covered in dreary curtains. There was dust everywhere. 

I hoped that I was a ghost so that I wouldn’t have a sneeze attack.

“Hello Grayson,” A feminine voice said from in front of me. 

_________

Word Count: 2432

November 29, 2020


End file.
